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Taskforces and amnesties aid 38% jump during 2012/13, figures show
Taskforces and amnesties were important tools in the taxman’s success in retrieving missing revenue over the past, according to UHY Hacker Young.
Figures obtained by the national accountancy company show the amount collected by HMRC through the scrutiny of individual taxpayers jumped 38% during 2012/132, with yield soaring to £609m from £441m in the previous 12 months.
The Revenue launched several regional investigative teams, known as taskforces, in the most recently completed tax year, with the aim of clamping down on evasion by workers in areas including London’s indoor and outdoor markets and the Scottish alcohol industry.
The department also introduced disclosure initiatives aimed at higher-rate self assessment taxpayers and direct sellers, among others. The amnesties offered participants the opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to date without the threat of major sanctions.
Both compliance measures greatly benefited HMRC’s collection of money owed by individuals, as did detailed scrutiny of self-assessment returns, claimed UHY Hacker Young’s head of private client services, Mark Giddens.
“A major push to recover missing taxes was launched in 2010, and is backed by the sophisticated exploitation of big data and extremely aggressively targeted pursuit of subgroups of personal taxpayers,” he said.
“Tax amnesties are also a crucial part of HMRC’s carrot and stick approach… [and] are examples of how HMRC are identifying groups they consider to be potential tax offenders. The not-so-subtle message… with these campaigns is… after the amnesty comes a clampdown.”
