MPs have accused HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of not doing enough to tackle tax evasion, warning that the estimated £5.5 billion loss to the public purse is likely a significant underestimate. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticized the VAT registration process as 'far too open to abuse', allowing firms to evade paying tax and overseas traders to falsely register as UK companies. They called for tighter controls to prevent further losses.
The HM Revenue & Customs sign outside their building in Whitehall.The amount of money lost to the public purse throughevasion is likely far higher than the £5.5 billion estimated by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, according to MPs.
Overseas traders can still falsely register as UK companies due to the lax checks in both HMRC and Companies House registration processes, the MPs warned. “Not only that, but our own tax authority has not sufficiently curious with a view to accurately diagnosing the problem. Though we acknowledge the inherent difficulty of the issue, it is clear that more must be done to clamp down on fraud and root out the bad actors who are taking advantage of loopholes in the current system.”MP added: “The government needs to get a tighter grip on this issue to prevent further tax funds being lost unnecessarily.
TAX EVASION HMRC VAT UK ECONOMY GOVERNMENT POLICY
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Cost Of Tax Evasion Likely Far Higher Than The £5.5 Billion Estimated By HMRC, Say MPsKevin Schofield is HuffPost UK's political editor and is based at Westminster. He has been a political journalist for more than 20 years, and in that time has worked for the Press Association, The Scotsman, The Herald, Daily Record, The Sun and PoliticsHome.
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