Household Bills
Crackdown on tax dodgers nets HMRC £23.9bn in extra revenue
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) raised a record £23.9bn in additional tax revenue in the past year as a result of a crackdown on tax dodgers.
The additional tax – which HMRC secured as a result of investigations, on top of the tax collected from those who pay their taxes on time – is up £3.2bn on the previous year, up £9bn on three years ago and nearly £1bn above the target set by George Osborne in the Autumn Statement 2013.
More than £8bn of the extra money came from large business, £1bn from criminals and £2.7bn from tackling avoidance schemes in the courts, HMRC said.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said: “The government supports the hardworking, honest majority of taxpayers who play by the rules, and is determined to tackle the minority who seek to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
“We set HMRC ambitious targets to increase its yield and the figures published today demonstrate that HMRC is successfully meeting these challenges. It also sends a clear signal – HMRC will pursue those seeking to avoid their responsibilities and will collect the taxes that are due.”
