Hundreds more evaders caught by the taxman: Number of fraudsters prosecuted for fiddling the system up 58% in a year

Hundreds more people who fiddled their tax have been prosecuted in the past year, it was revealed today.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said its assault on tax evasion has produced a 58 per cent rise in convictions with criminals getting a total of 400 years in jail.

HMRC has been under huge pressure to prosecute more people and rake-in more tax revenue with only 795 people taken to court in 2013.

But the latest figures, to the end of 2014, show that 1,258 were prosecuted for evasion or tax fraud.

The coalition government promised a five-fold increase in convictions by 2015, and HMRC has smashed its target of 1,165 last year.

But critics say more needs to be done to tackle those fiddling tax using offshore bank accounts or businesses funneling cash via other countries to avoid paying tax.

Morag Rea, head of Business Crime and Investigations at Thomson Reuters, who gained the figures using FOI, said: ‘The conviction rate will go some way to countering claims from detractors who say HMRC is not doing enough to crack down on deliberate fraudulent abuse of the system.

‘The challenge now is for HMRC to increase its success rate in cases involving offshore accounts and hidden overseas assets. New powers reducing the burden of proof of deliberate tax evasion are likely to have a significant impact.’

The Government has found an extra £60million to tackle tax evasion, especially in major tax fraud carried out by the rich, and big business.

It has also announced a new ‘strict liability criminal offence’ to stop people avoiding prosecution by claiming they were only following the advice of their accountant.

There will also be bigger fines and other tougher penalties for offshore evaders – and those who set them up.

An HMRC spokesman said: ‘Tackling tax evasion is a top priority for HMRC and, in line with our commitment to ministers, we have increased the number of prosecutions. Whether it’s Income Tax fraud, tobacco smuggling, repayment fraud or the money laundering which often accompanies tax crime, we’re working hard to ensure those committing fraud against the public purse don’t get away with it.

‘Last year we secured a record £26 billion of additional yield across all our work, and our successful prosecutions resulted in over 400 years of custodial sentences. The message is clear: evade tax and you’ll pay the price.’

It came as it emerged self-employed workers, landlords and small business owners are to be forced to file lengthy tax returns four times a year.

At present, the self-employed and small firms only have to submit one a year – either on paper or over the internet.

But the taxman has now revealed plans to make them file online every three months, in much the same way as big corporations do.

Experts branded the reforms a disaster and said they would add to the mountains of red-tape that the self-employed and small business owners already have to deal with.

And business leaders claimed the plans flew in the face of Government promises to support small firms.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: ‘These changes are going to be very onerous.

‘It is not just about filling in a form. Workers will have to make sure their books and records are properly up to date at least four times a year in case the taxman decides something is amiss and investigates them. It is going to be a real burden.’

The plans were quietly published in the small print of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

They will affect around four million people – the self employed, small business owners and buy-to-let landlords who make more than £10,000 a year profit from their properties.