Thursday, 17 July 2014 10:19
Wealthiest hand over £1bn to taxman as crackdown continues
A specialist tax unit which focuses on the wealthiest people in the country has brought in £1 billion as part of the crackdown on evasion and fraud.
The release of the figures today comes in the same week that HMRC published a list of more than 800 schemes - used by some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment and sport - that it believes were deliberately designed to avoid tax.
HM Revenue and Customs' High Net Worth Unit has brought in £1 billion in compliance yield since its creation, it was announced today.
The unit, which was set up in 2009, deals with the tax affairs of the 6,200 wealthiest individual customers of HMRC – those with a net worth of £20 million or more.
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The amount it has brought in has increased year on year to £268 million in 2013-14, a 20 per cent increase on the year before.
This has risen from £85m in its first year and £162m in its second.
David Gauke, financial secretary to the Treasury, said: "HMRC vigorously polices the rules ensuring it collects the tax that is due, and takes tough action against the minority who seek to avoid their responsibilities.
"This approach is clearly working as HMRC's High Net Worth Unit has delivered £1 billion in compliance yield.
"This is against targets totalling £894 million and is further evidence that the government's investment of nearly £1 billion in HMRC to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud is paying off."
Mr Gauke revealed the figure as he spoke at HMRC's annual stakeholder conference.
The unit said it ensures "good customer engagement" with a focus on influencing behaviour to improve voluntary compliance.
The unit works by assigning customers with a relationship manager who has detailed oversight and develops a close understanding of the tax risks among these wealthy individuals.
Officials said this "maximises voluntary compliance of the majority of customers and enables HMRC to effectively challenge those who do not play by the rules".
The release of the figures today comes in the same week that HMRC published a list of more than 800 schemes - used by some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment and sport - that it believes were deliberately designed to avoid tax.
HM Revenue and Customs' High Net Worth Unit has brought in £1 billion in compliance yield since its creation, it was announced today.
The unit, which was set up in 2009, deals with the tax affairs of the 6,200 wealthiest individual customers of HMRC – those with a net worth of £20 million or more.
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The amount it has brought in has increased year on year to £268 million in 2013-14, a 20 per cent increase on the year before.
This has risen from £85m in its first year and £162m in its second.
David Gauke, financial secretary to the Treasury, said: "HMRC vigorously polices the rules ensuring it collects the tax that is due, and takes tough action against the minority who seek to avoid their responsibilities.
"This approach is clearly working as HMRC's High Net Worth Unit has delivered £1 billion in compliance yield.
"This is against targets totalling £894 million and is further evidence that the government's investment of nearly £1 billion in HMRC to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud is paying off."
Mr Gauke revealed the figure as he spoke at HMRC's annual stakeholder conference.
The unit said it ensures "good customer engagement" with a focus on influencing behaviour to improve voluntary compliance.
The unit works by assigning customers with a relationship manager who has detailed oversight and develops a close understanding of the tax risks among these wealthy individuals.
Officials said this "maximises voluntary compliance of the majority of customers and enables HMRC to effectively challenge those who do not play by the rules".
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