HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) collected a record £517.7 billion in tax in 2014-15, £11.9 billion more than the previous year.
The figures were included in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15, published on 16 July, which featured achievements including:
- securing and protecting a record £26.6 billion through tax compliance crackdowns
- prosecuting 1,289 cases, predominately for tax-related crimes, and securing a total of 407 years in prison sentences
- protecting £9.79 billion in tax through successful litigation
- implementing initiatives including a new Needs Extra Support telephone and mobile adviser service to support vulnerable customers and the £2,000 Employment Allowance for more than a million small employers.
However, HMRC performed less well on customer service. It handled only 72.5 per cent of 65 million calls attempts, down from 79 per cent in 2013-14, and processed only 70 per cent of 15 million items of customer post received within 15 working days, falling from 83 per cent in 2013-14.
HMRC chief executive Lin Homer said: “Our customer service levels slipped this year, but the work we are already doing on digitising our services, using real-time information, and creating online tax accounts for individuals and businesses will help us improve customer service as well as improve voluntary compliance.”
