Reform proposes £30 tax rebate for HMRC phone delays

People on hold to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for more than 30 minutes would get £30 off their tax bill under a Reform UK government, Robert Jenrick has announced.

Reform’s economy spokesman said HMRC’s treatment of taxpayers was “offensive to working people” and his party would tie the pay of senior HMRC officials to customer service targets.

To prevent abuse, the tax credit for phone delays would be limited to two occasions in a given tax year, Jenrick said.

HMRC has said it has improved its response times since a highly critical report by a committee of MPs, external, in January 2025, accused the organisation of seeking to “degrade its telephone service to drive taxpayers to digital channels”.

The Public Accounts Committee report said nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being on hold for more than an hour in 2024 and “HMRC’s treatment of taxpayers has damaged trust in the tax system”.

Jenrick highlighted the findings – which were rejected as “completely baseless” by the then boss of HMRC – at a media conference in central London.

“Frankly, it is offensive to working people and I have had enough,” said the former Tory MP.

“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, 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.”

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.

He said the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which mirrors EU legislation and was adopted as domestic law after Brexit, had “strangled” tech firms and small enterprises.

The framework would be replaced by rules modelled on New Zealand’s privacy legislation, which Reform says has the lightest-touch regime still recognised as being “adequate” by the EU.

Labour accused Reform of wanting to “scrap vital safeguards that protect people’s private data” with its “unworkable and unserious plans”.

HMRC has been contacted for a response.