HMRC will use robots to check tax returns

Robots could soon be checking our tax returns, as part of a drive by the taxman to automate millions of its processes.

HM Revenue & Customs is planning to start using artificial intelligence (AI) in "compliance and complex tax cases", according to Brigid McBride, its digital transformation director.

Speaking at a public sector technology event in London, Ms McBride said HMRC is already "dipping our toe in AI". The taxman uses social media to help deal with simple queries and has a "virtual assistant" called Rita which uses robotic technology.

“The pace of change is not slowing, the demands of our customers are growing, and our customers are moving towards self-employment," Ms McBride said. "The real challenge is building an organisation that can absorb that change and adapt to it.”

HMRC has "asked staff to identify processes that they felt could automate," she said. "We ended up with hundreds of small projects."  

“We have been absolutely crushed by the enthusiasm.”

The taxman aims to automate 10 million of its processes by the end of this year, and already claims to be leading the way in government automation technology. HMRC has previously said the drive is is designed to make "mundane tasks automatic. That in turn makes our processes more efficient, and it also frees up our customer contact advisers to do more interesting and customer-facing work."

The trend to greater automation raises fears for the future of the employment market. Four million British jobs could be replaced by robots within the next decade, according to a study by YouGov for the Royal Society of Arts carried out last year.

Jobs in accounting, finance, transport, marketing and advertising are among those likely to be most affected by automation, the research found.