Tax raised from avoidance and fraud investigations slumps

The amount of tax interest and penalties generated per large-scale tax avoidance and fraud case undertaken by HMRC has slumped in recent years despite a huge boost to staffing numbers according to data obtained by Price Bailey.

The data released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that while the number of serious tax avoidance and fraud cases closed by HMRC has been increasing the yield per case has been declining.

HMRC generated a total return of £70.2m from serious tax avoidance cases (COP8) in the most recent tax year for which data is available (2021-22) with a yield per case of £204 013 the second lowest in six tax years.

For the more serious fraud COP9 cases HMRC generated a total return of £104.4m in 2021-22 with a yield per case of £202 708 again the second lowest in six years and down...