Tax evasion tip-offs rocket
The number of calls from the public to HMRC’s tax evasion hotline has increased by almost a quarter in the past year
The number of calls from the public to HMRC’s tax evasion hotline has increased by almost a quarter in the past year
The service, which allows the public to inform the Revenue of suspected cases of tax evasion, has received 90,000 calls in 12 months at an average of 350 calls per day, according to Bloomsbury Professional.
Previously, however, spending watchdog the National Audit Office has said that the tax evasion hotline is the least cost-effective method of detecting tax evaders, warning that it yields just twice the amount of money it costs to operate it.
Bloomsbury also points out that the extremely high volume of calls does not necessarily mean that large amounts of tax will be recouped through investigations, and can lead to “over-zealous” reporting of suspected cases.
Martin Casimir, managing director of Bloomsbury Professional, said, “The number of calls the hotline is receiving is astonishing. It’s clear that people are very keen to ensure that no one cheats the tax system and everybody pays their fair share.”
Casimir explains, “People are now more aware of tax irregularities but this awareness can lead to an over-zealous approach to reporting suspected tax evasion. This is likely to have led to the big jump in the volume of calls the hotline receives.”
“Given HMRC’s restricted budget, there is a question over whether it has sufficient resources to properly investigate the 350 calls a day that it receives.”
Also today it was revealed HMRC has increased its take of VAT from SMEs by 10%. Compliance investigations took £3.9bn – up 10% on the previous year’s £3.6bn.
