The recent payout to UBS former banker Bradley Birkenfeld has drawn attention to the dramatic discordance between amounts paid to tax informers in the UK and the level of awards made in the US. According to figures recently released by HMRC the $104m paid to Birkenfeld by US tax authorities for his whistleblowing activity eclipsed the total amount paid by HMRC to tax informers during the tax year 2011/12 by a ratio of over 100 to 1. Mindful of the $100bn a year which the US rewards scheme collects it is high time HMRC reconsiders its policy in this area.
As long ago as 1868 Parliament gave its approval to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to financially reward a person who informed them about a revenue offence. Today HMRC’s discretion...
