Outstanding Tax Cases Near 27,000
Outstanding first-tier tax tribunal cases have been on the rise for some time. In 2012/2013, it has now been revealed, the number nearly reached a record of nearly 27,000.
In 2009/2010, this number was only 13,456, meaning that the volume of outstanding cases has almost exactly doubled over the past four years. However, HMRC has claimed that this does not necessarily represent a backlog. They have stressed that many cases are linked, which causes the number of cases to be effectively lower in practise. They have also pointed out that many cases are solved before reaching their tribunal date.
Nonetheless, this rapid increase in cases has caused a growing amount of pressure on HMRC’s dispute resolution process. This has led them to launch the recent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, which provides a quicker and easier route for many cases. This is hoped to relieve much of the pressure.