New data unveiled in recent days has revealed that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) collected an additional £5.47 billion in tax in 2017/18 as a result of specialist fraud investigations.
The figures, which featured in Accountancy Age earlier this week, reveal that the amount of ‘extra tax’ collected by the Revenue as a direct result of these investigations was up by £300 million on the previous year.
According to the law firm which obtained the information from HMRC, this seven per cent increase can be attributed to the tax authority’s efforts to step-up civil investigations – the number of which rose year-on-year by 13 per cent in the 12 months to 31 March 2018.
HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), which investigates complex and high-value cases of suspected fraud and tax evasion, was first set up in 2015, but the Revenue has invested much time and money in upscaling its activities of late.
Commentators have noted that in most cases, HMRC will reserve criminal investigations for only the most serious issues, where the tax authority feels that a ‘deterrent message’ is necessary.
However, in recent years, HMRC has “thrown serious weight” behind its tax investigations team – and has even published a controversial consultation demanding new powers to submit information requests to the likes of accountants, solicitors, estate agents and other advisers to aid its investigation efforts into private individuals.
The proposals even call for HMRC to be able to request information from social media platforms and other third parties that store information on taxpayers – all without first seeking approval from a Tax Tribunal, as is the current procedure.
Whether the proposals will go ahead is yet to be seen.