HMRC takes in record £23.9bn following tax cheat clampdown
Tax authorities have increased their take by 15% to a record total of £23.9 billion in the year to April following a crackdown on tax avoidance schemes.
HM Revenue & Customs said that £8 billion had been received in a crackdown on big businesses, with another £1 billion coming from criminals and £2.7 billion through court challenges.
‘We set HMRC ambitious targets to increase its yield and the figures published today demonstrate that HMRC is successfully meeting these challenges,’ said exchequer secretary to the Treasury David Gauke.
‘It also sends a clear signal – HMRC will pursue those seeking to avoid their responsibilities and will collect the taxes that are due.’
The number of people investigated by the HMRC in the 2013/14 tax year almost doubled to 237,215 from 119,000 in the year before, while the number of successful prosecutions rose from 477 to 690.
HMRC said that the results was £1 billion above the target set by the chancellor in the 2013 Autumn Statement.
Source: citywire
