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 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 | Dec 17, 2024
Sir Jim Harra, outgoing CEO of HMRC, got a tense grilling by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday when he admitted that HMRC don’t have a specific strategy or target for tax evasion within the overall tax gap, as found by the National Audit Office which we...
by Simon Watkins | Sep 9, 2024
Sweet Deception: £4.4bn tax evasion leaves a sour taste for HMRC Tax evasion growing amongst small businesses, but HMRC lacks an effective strategic response Estimated £4.4billion lost to tax evasion by small businesses, although HMRC admit this could be erroneous....
by Simon Watkins | Jul 1, 2024
Mining the tax gap to pay for additional public spending pledges has become the norm during election campaigns for the UK’s major parties. This election cycle is proving to be no different. Both Labour and Conservatives have cited around £6 billion as aspirational...
