by Mike Lewis | May 16, 2025
HMRC is recovering more missing tax from wealthy individuals than previously: £5.2 billion in 2023/24. But beneath the headlines: the tax this group is underpaying may be larger than previously thought, and is likely growing, while penalties for their non-compliance...
by Mike Lewis | May 14, 2025
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....
by Claire Aston | Mar 26, 2025
Photo credit: HM Treasury HMRC’s target for prosecution ‘charging decisions’ to be set 20% above the rates achieved in 2023-24. These rates have collapsed since pre-pandemic. It will be 2029 before HMRC’s target returns to the rate achieved in 2019-20 – a lost decade,...
by Simon Watkins | Feb 12, 2025
Tax evasion cost UK taxpayers £5.5bn in 2022-23, with 81% from small businesses – up from 66% in 2019-20 Prosecutions for tax evasion down 54% since 2018-19 Phoenixism cost the exchequer at least £500 million in 2022-23 HMRC lacks a specific strategy for...
by Simon Watkins | Jan 23, 2025
HMRC’s offshore tax gap estimate labelled “implausibly low” Concerns raised about lack of strategy for reducing the tax gap despite additional resources Questions over fall in criminal prosecutions and potential deterrent effect A political scuffle has erupted over...
by Claire Aston | Jan 7, 2025
Error and fraud within R&D tax relief reached £1.1bn in 2020-21 (24% of all claims) before HMRC took action to stem the losses and tighten up the claims processes. New disclosure facility launched for businesses who overclaimed R&D relief wanting to set their...
