During 2015/16, HMRC identified 2,972 cases of serious tax evasion, representing an 8% increase over the previous year, according to figures seen by international law firm Pinsent Masons. A further 3,000 suspected instances have been referred for specialist investigation.
During 2015/16, HMRC identified 2,972 cases of serious tax evasion, representing an 8% increase over the previous year, according to figures seen by international law firm Pinsent Masons. A further 3,000 suspected instances have been referred for specialist investigation. As the ‘Panama papers’ leak and HSBC Switzerland scandal have increased the pressure on HMRC to act, the increasingly sophisticated tools and techniques at its disposal are enabling it to do so.
Fiona Fernie, partner at Pinsent Masons, says this ‘should result in continuous improvements in HMRC’s success rate both in identifying suspected crime and prosecuting those cases successfully’. She continues: ‘Anyone who is concerned that their tax position is compromising is likely to find that the taxman looks more favourably on them if they come forward of their own volition to reach a solution.’
Extra investment announced in the 2015 Summer Budget is expected to enable HMRC to recover £7.2bn in unpaid tax by the start of the next decade. The number of criminal prosecutions into serious and complex tax crime is likely to increase to 100 per year within five years.
During 2015/16, HMRC identified 2,972 cases of serious tax evasion, representing an 8% increase over the previous year, according to figures seen by international law firm Pinsent Masons. A further 3,000 suspected instances have been referred for specialist investigation.
During 2015/16, HMRC identified 2,972 cases of serious tax evasion, representing an 8% increase over the previous year, according to figures seen by international law firm Pinsent Masons. A further 3,000 suspected instances have been referred for specialist investigation. As the ‘Panama papers’ leak and HSBC Switzerland scandal have increased the pressure on HMRC to act, the increasingly sophisticated tools and techniques at its disposal are enabling it to do so.
Fiona Fernie, partner at Pinsent Masons, says this ‘should result in continuous improvements in HMRC’s success rate both in identifying suspected crime and prosecuting those cases successfully’. She continues: ‘Anyone who is concerned that their tax position is compromising is likely to find that the taxman looks more favourably on them if they come forward of their own volition to reach a solution.’
Extra investment announced in the 2015 Summer Budget is expected to enable HMRC to recover £7.2bn in unpaid tax by the start of the next decade. The number of criminal prosecutions into serious and complex tax crime is likely to increase to 100 per year within five years.
