U.K. Needs More Resources to Collect Tax Debt, Audit Office Says

The U.K.’s tax authority needs more resources to help it recover nearly 42 billion pounds ($56.6 billion) in tax debt currently outstanding, according to a new report by the National Audit Office.

The amount of tax debt owed to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs ballooned during the pandemic due to government aid programs such as valued-added tax deferrals, and could take years to solve, according to the report published Wednesday.

• “HMRC faces several years of managing the impact of the pandemic on tax debt and current staffing is unlikely to be enough to manage the increased workload,” the report ...