HMRC happily accepts that it will fail to answer many of the letters and telephone calls it receives from the public. Indeed, according to a Public Accounts Committee Report made on 22nd January 2025, it has set itself a target allowing it not to answer 15% of the telephone calls it receives and in 2023/24 actually failed to answer 33.6% of them. Perhaps to aid its, so far unsuccessful, attempts to meet this undemanding target it routinely hides the means of contacting it in the most inaccessible parts of its website.
It was with some surprise, and pleasure, therefore, that in looking at the Residence, Domicile and Remittance Basis Manual in para. RDRM11050 we found the heading ‘Residence: The SRT: who to contact’. Our pleasure, but not our surprise, was short-lived. When we looked at the text underneath it said:
‘This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.’
As someone once said, ‘you could not make it up’.
