Donald Trump claims the UK’s Digital Services Tax overwhelmingly targets US tech giants. New data obtained by TaxWatch shows otherwise.
From the White House to the tech sector, the UK’s Digital Services Tax has been described as a discriminatory ‘tariff’ almost entirely targeting large US internet companies. New statistics show that’s not quite true.
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 the powers and penalties it already has.
Curiously incurious: HMRC’s failures on tax evasion
The latest report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) paints a concerning picture of tax evasion in the UK retail sector. It highlights significant gaps in enforcement, underestimated scale of evasion, and a worrying decline in prosecutions. The report raises significant concerns about HMRC’s seemingly incurious approach to the scale of tax evasion.
Not pulling punches: Public Accounts Committee slams HMRC’s kid gloves approach to tax gap and criminal prosecutions
HMRC’s offshore tax gap estimate labelled “implausibly low” and raises concerns raised about lack of strategy for reducing the tax gap and lack of prosecutions
A ‘guestimate not an estimate?’ PAC grills HMRC top brass about its lack of strategy on tax evasion in online retail
Public Accounts committee grill HMRC for not having a strategic plan nor reliable estimate for on tax evasion in online retail sector.
Sweet Deception: £4.4bn tax evasion leaves a sour taste for HMRC
NAO calls out HMRC for not having a strategic plan on tax evasion.
Mining the gap
TaxWatch analyses the latest tax gap data and examines manifesto pledges to narrow the gap to see whether they represent credible plans to increase tax revenues
HMRC’s 2024 Tax Gap report: Amount of tax going unpaid hits record high at £39.8bn in 2022-23
TaxWatch analyses the latest Tax Gap publication, noting it has reached £40bn in 2022-23 yet still doesn’t cover offshore matters
Are we nearly there yet? In search of the elusive offshore tax gap
HMRC now says offshore tax gap data will be published in June 2024, two years after the government announced it and a year after the information was due.