Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-04-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employees of HM Revenue and Customs are employed to investigate tax evasion; what the estimated amount was of tax evasion in 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) more than 26,000 (FTE) strong enforcement and compliance workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks ranging from hidden economy to the wealthy. Last year, they collected and protected a record £26 billion from compliance activities, contributing towards the UK’s highest-ever tax take of £518 billion.

The most recent year for which tax gap figures are available is 2013/14. HMRC estimates that £4.4 billion of it relates to tax evasion.

HMRC allocates resources in a flexible manner, so that it meets individual business needs.

The Government has made additional resourcing of up to £10 million a year available for the creation of a new taskforce. Its purpose will be to swiftly obtain and analyse the Panama papers, and take rapid action where there is evidence of any wrongdoing and regulatory breaches. The taskforce will look beyond tax into all potential areas of financial crime and other regulatory breaches. It will be jointly led by HMRC and the National Crime Agency.

Information on the structure and organisation of HMRC is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts

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