Brits would get £30 tax break if left on hold by HMRC for 30 minutes under Reform plans

NewsPolitics TAXPAYERS would get £30 knocked off their tax bill if they are left hanging on the phone to HMRC for more than 30 minutes under Reform plans. The payout would be capped at twice a year and only available to people who owe tax. Reform’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick Credit: Alamy Callers waited an average of 23 minutes in 2023/24 – compared with just five minutes five years earlier Credit: Alamy The party’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick announced the move at a press conference this morning, saying: “Last year, MPs were accusing HMRC of deliberately degrading its own services to force people onto the website. It’s a disgrace. “Frankly, it is offensive to working people and I have had enough. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! “So, we will give HMRC a big incentive to actually provide proper customer service. “I’m announcing today that under a Reform government, if you spend more than half an hour waiting for HMRC to answer your call, you will get a £30 credit off your tax bill. If HMRC delay, well, they can repay. “And to make sure that the staff actually hit their targets, we’ll tie the pay of senior HMRC officials to their customer service performance.” Callers waited an average of 23 minutes in 2023/24 – compared with just five minutes five years earlier. Nearly 50,000 calls were reportedly cut off without help after hitting HMRC’s 70-minute limit. Reform claims taxpayers lost 14 million hours on the phone that year, costing the economy £275million in wasted time. Most read in The Sun The party expects the tax credits to cost £70million annually but says the bill would fall if HMRC answered calls faster. Officials would be ordered to improve services without extra departmental cash, including by letting small firms arrange debt repayments in writing. At the press conference, Mr Jenrick also pledged to scrap UK privacy rules in favour of a “light-touch” approach to data protection as part of a bid to slash “red tape” for businesses. Jenrick says almost everyone in Britain has paid tradespeople cash in hand ROBERT Jenrick has admitted he has probably paid tradespeople in cash, saying “almost everyone” in Britain has done it. The party’s Treasury spokesperson was asked whether he had ever paid cash-in-hand for a job. He replied: “I am sure I have paid for for jobs in cash in hand, almost everyone has in the country.” He stressed he did not “blame businesses for for what they do” but added: “Everyone should pay their taxes. Of course, they should do. We’re a party for working people. “We don’t like people who don’t pay their their taxes because that’s just making it harder for everybody else. “We believe in fairness, and everyone playing playing their full part in society. “ He added: “I’m very conscious that the tax system has been set up in a way that makes life extremely difficult for small businesses to grow and to expand. “What we’ve set out today are a number of changes that will completely change the incentives. “For example, increasing the VAT threshold from £90,000 to £150,000. “ Comment now