Broken offshore promises undermine the UK’s tax system

Broken offshore promises undermine the UK’s tax system

After years of attempts at reform, offshore havens still offer secrecy for those determined to hide money and evade tax. In a week when five of the UK’s Overseas Territories have ignored yet another deadline for functioning ‘beneficial ownership’...
The gap in the Tax Gap

The gap in the Tax Gap

Summary: Quietly buried in HMRC spreadsheets released today is the news that the UK Tax Gap – the gap between tax due and tax collected – seems consistently to be billions of pounds bigger than HMRC previously estimated. New evidence suggests that the...
“With hindsight, the wrong way to do it”

“With hindsight, the wrong way to do it”

Previously we found that HMRC is hardly using powers to investigate, penalise and publicise tax advisers who enable tax abuse. Here we look at why these powers aren’t being used: a barrage of legal roadblocks; and holding back on naming and shaming. *** When tax...
Back to the drawing board

Back to the drawing board

The government wants to step up the fight against enablers of tax abuse (again). New powers and better information can help. But HMRC is barely using some of the powers and penalties it already has.  *** Laws that aren’t enforced are simply polite recommendations....