HMRC to spend £1bn on tax evasion clampdown

Date: 28th April 2009

HM Revenue & Customs is to spend a quarter of its annual budget on clamping down on tax evasion over the course of the current financial year, it has been revealed.

With officials keen to dramatically reduce evasion, which is estimated to cost the Treasury around £2.4 billion each year, it has been announced that £1 billion is to be spent on pursuing businesses or individuals breaking the taxation rules.

Announcing the new push, in what represents the first time HMRC has published details of its budgetary plans, chief executive and permenant secretary Lesley Strathie said: "Our challenge is to meet increased demand on our services while the resources available to us substantially reduce by 2011

"In the current difficult economic climate, it is more important than ever that HMRC helps and supports customers fulfil these obligations while relentlessly pursuing those who bend or break the rules."

This follows on from the recent increase in the higher rate of tax from 40 per cent to 50 per cent on incomes of more than £150,000 a year, with some critics of the move arguing that this could prompt some of the 'super-rich' to quit the UK.