Tax debt rises by 6% in 2022-23

The tax debt balance at the end of June 2023 was £44.5bn according to HMRC’s quarterly performance report for the first quarter of 2023-24. This is a reduction from £45.9bn at the end of March 2023 but a 6% increase on the £42bn it stood at in June last year.

In the report HMRC said: ‘Even though we are resolving debts at levels significantly above the average for tax years from April 2017 to March 2020 the volume of new debt exceeds the level at which we are able to resolve it.’

The department believes most of this tax debt is owed by small and medium-sized businesses many of which appear to be affected by the ‘current challenging economic conditions’.

While HMRC’s figures suggest that there has been little change in the proportion of taxpayers filing their returns and declaring their liabilities on time...