Editor, Solicitors Journal

TAX EVASION

31 Dec 2020News

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has not delivered on its pledge to increase criminal prosecutions of wealthy individuals and corporates by the end of 2020. A freedom of information request by Kingsley Napley revealed an 'abysmal' performance by HMRC. HMRC set itself an initial target, five years ago, of 100 prosecutions a year. However, no company was prosecuted in the five years from 2015 to 2020. Just 548 individuals were charged with tax evasion in the 2019-2020 tax year compared to 1,288 in the 2014-2015 tax year. 21 December 2020

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