The BBC has reported on the government's new accounts (which I have yet to look at in detail) and noted that:
The committee said the amount of money written off due to fraud, error and unrecoverable debts as well as pending legal proceedings against taxpayers - which totalled an estimated £13.2bn - was "worryingly high".
The figures do not include local government or public corporations, and the National Fraud Authority estimates the true cost of fraud to the public sector was £20.6bn.
That's of concern, although some such loss is inevitable in a budget of the size of the government's.
What worries me more is that the figure excludes the tax gap, which HM Revenue & Customs says is £35 billion and which I say may be at least £95 billion.
Why is that? Is it deliberate?
If so, why?
It's long seemed as if it's policy to downplay this issue. It looks as though that policy is at work here.
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It’s a convenient way of bashing the Civil Service while letting the bankers off the hook, for sure.
For some reason the PAC has misled itself.The Tax Gap refers to more than fraud,but the £14bn the NFA does call fraud is already part of the Tax Gap figures.
So the PAC is double counting that £14bn of fraud, evasion and criminal attack.”
Just imagine the furore if £20.6 billion was the level of benefit fraud. Never mind, no doubt those in charge at Westminster are too busy entertaining themselves with “selfies”!