The UK’s Public Accounts Committee (Pac) and National Audit Office (NAO) have taken aim at the government, claiming that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) “does not understand the impact of the largest tax reliefs”.

Responding to the Pac report on the management of tax reliefs, the government said that a review into the impact of pensions tax relief is not needed, as it has already been assesed through other consultations.

These include looking at the administration of pensions tax relief, transitional agreement changes and variations to income thresholds for the tapered annual allowance.

The government said: “These investigations included gathering views and evidence from stakeholders to understand the regime’s impacts and the impacts of possible changes.

“The evidence provided directly influenced policy development. For example, responses to the 2015 wide-ranging consultation on pensions tax relief indicated there was no clear consensus for reform at that time; and so, at budget 2016, the then-government announced it would not make fundamental reform to pensions tax reliefs at that stage.

“The government will continue to engage with stakeholders to understand the regime’s impacts and gather evidence through consultations such as those listed above but does not think it is the right time now for a formal evaluation.”

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