LONDON: The UK is preparing to triple the number of prosecutions of “serious and complex” tax evaders using an arsenal of proposed new powers.
A unit combining the civil and criminal investigations teams at HM Revenue & Customs will spearhead a crackdown that George Osborne, the chancellor, says will increase tax revenue by £7.2bn.
However, lawyers and former officials warn that the push for more prosecutions might prompt the taxman to focus on soft targets, rather than the high-fliers, with expensive legal teams, whose readiness to dodge tax has stoked public anger in an age of austerity.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has also already raised doubts about the extent to which planned new tax measures revealed in the Summer Budget — including the prosecutions target — will help the chancellor close the deficit.
The prosecutions target and new powers follow a series of controversies that has left HMRC struggling to shake the impression that, while it comes down hard on benefit fraud and cash-in-hand traders, the wealthy and multinationals enjoy generous treatment.
Under the “light-touch” approach to regulation introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government, HMRC adopted a “collaborative” approach to dealing with big business and the rich, and drew criticism that senior officials were too close to multinationals and their tax advisers.
