The National Audit Office (NAO) has found the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) spent £154m in 2006-07 to identify an estimated £106m of fraudulent claims after examining six of the most important counter-fraud activities for their cost effectiveness.
NAO found the department had cut estimated benefit fraud from £2bn to £800m a year since 2000, but said DWP 'could do more' to be cost-effective.
The whole of HM Revenue & Customs' tax collection activity cost £5 billion to run in 2006-07 (page 32). It collected £423 billion.
We know there is a substantial tax gap though (and I will publish more on this soon - but take this for starters). So where would the £106 million of resource have been better spent? On benefit fraud or tax collection? And since it was obviously the latter, why is it HM Revenue & Customs that is having the staff cuts?
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[…] dodging is the problem Wednesday, January 23, 2008 — charliemarks My good (tax) man Richard Murphy points out the following […]