MAKING A DIFFERENCE

摘要

Over the last few years HM Revenue & Customs has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, under fire for inefficiencies and insensitivities from practitioners and taxpayers alike. The radical restructuring of the department's leadership, late last year, establishing an executive board with a non-executive chair brought in from the private sector, has raised hopes for a fresh start and improved service standards.rnThe new team faces huge issues both internally and externally. Two-thirds of respondents to a recent ICAEW Tax Faculty survey said they thought standards were worse now than a year ago. In July, a survey of government departments revealed that only a quarter of HMRC staff were proud to work there and just 11 % thought that the department was well managed.rnHowever, it is early days and the teamrnis working hard - within the constraints of reduced staffing and financial resources - for improvements. In his third annual interview with HMRC's leadership (see Accountancy, July 2007, p109, and July 2008, p117), Paul Aplin, ICAEW council member and its representative on the Powers Implementation Oversight Forum, talks to CEO Lesley Strathie, chairman Mike Clasper and permanent secretary for tax Dave Hartnett about the challenges.