The ‘tax gap’ figures for 2012/13 showed that illegal activity costs the UK almost five times as much as tax avoidance. When it comes to reducing tax avoidance, argues Tony Beare (Slaughter and May), adverse publicity and the desire to maintain a good working relationship with HMRC are the most powerful drivers.
The ‘tax gap’ figures for 2012/13 make interesting reading. The government estimate of £34bn per annum includes an estimated £3.1bn lost to tax avoidance (down from £3.4bn in the previous year) and £15.4bn from illegal activity (£5.4bn lost to criminal attacks £4.1bn lost to evasion and £5.9bn lost to the ‘hidden economy’). Although this compares well to other jurisdictions as a proportion of total tax liabilities there is clearly room for improvement.
These figures show...
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