Record £24 Billion From Tax Avoidance Crackdown
Following a recent crackdown on tax avoidance by HM Revenue and Customs, a record £23.9 billion has been added to public coffers thanks to investigations relating to the crackdown. The figure is the highest HMRC haul since records began, and exceeds the target set in December’s Autumn Statement by £1 billion.
Following the huge haul, the tax gap – the estimated difference between tax due and tax collected – is 7%.
Large businesses – a group HMRC have previously been criticised for not pursuing sufficiently – contributed £8 billion to the record-breaking figure. A further £2.7 billion came from court proceedings against avoidance schemes, and another £1 billion was recovered from criminals.
According to David Gauke, exchequer secretary, “HMRC will pursue those seeking to avoid their responsibilities and will collect the taxes that are due.” He went on to say that “The government is determined to tackle the minority that seek to avoid paying the taxes they owe.”