Requests to foreign tax authorities hit five year high

HMRC made the highest number of requests to foreign tax authorities for information on UK taxpayers in five years in 2022 according to data obtained by Price Bailey.

The data released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that HMRC made 620 data requests to foreign tax authorities in 2022 nearly double the number in 2021 (322) and the highest number since 2018.

The tax authority also issued 23 936 one-to-many letters in relation to offshore matters in 2022-23 which represents a 31% increase on 2021-22 when 18 260 such letters were issued.

Andrew Park partner at Price Bailey said: ‘HMRC is clearly stepping up activity targeting taxpayers with undeclared income or gains. This comes after several years of declining compliance focus on this area which may have lulled taxpayers into a false sense of security.

‘The world of offshore secrecy is...