Anger at tax office closure plans
Updated on 11 June 2008
Union leaders have reacted with fury after being told that a further 95 Revenue and Customs offices will close, affecting up to 12,300 workers.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said the ability of the department to collect revenues and provide tax advice to the public and local businesses would be undermined by the closures.
The union said services were already suffering because of a drive to axe 25,000 jobs and close more than 200 offices, claiming it had led to backlogs of work and poor staff morale.
Around 15,000 jobs have already been cut across the UK over the past four years, with 165 offices earmarked for closure or in the process of closing.
The union said it feared the latest proposals for more closures would accelerate the loss of skilled and experienced staff.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "(This) announcement is part of a crude drive to slash jobs and cut costs which will leave HMRC unable to deliver quality public services.
"Access to tax advice in communities across the UK will be damaged by these proposals, hitting businesses and the public in rural towns and villages as well as taking quality jobs out of local communities.
"We will be campaigning to keep as many offices open as possible, as job cuts are already damaging the ability of HMRC to function and undermining public confidence, with an estimated £42 billion in tax going uncollected and corporate tax avoidance totalling over £11.8 billion a year.
"The Government has to recognise that this erosion of confidence can only be halted by having enough civil and public servants with the right resources to do the job."
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