{"id":26363,"date":"2014-10-13T07:40:44","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T06:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=26363"},"modified":"2014-10-13T07:42:54","modified_gmt":"2014-10-13T06:42:54","slug":"the-face-of-tax-evasion-its-time-to-prosecute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2014\/10\/13\/the-face-of-tax-evasion-its-time-to-prosecute\/","title":{"rendered":"The face of tax evasion? It’s time to prosecute"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was amused by the presentation of this Guardian article this morning<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>I did wonder if there was an implication that I was now the face of tax evasion and that I am, perhaps, on one of those HMRC 'most wanted' lists, but actually the reference was, of course, to my work on the tax gap, and my latest report for PCS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The more important dimension of the story is yet another HMRC failure. Despite a supposedly increased budget for beating tax abuse there has been a failure to deliver. I am not surprised \u00a0by that: the integrity of the work of HMRC \u00a0is dependent upon funding for the whole organisation, not just a part of it. The logic of providing increased funds for one small aspect of its work is, therefore, bound to be mistaken. \u00a0This is an organisation that has to work from top to bottom and it is failing, especially at the top, because of a culture failure, and at the bottom, because of a lack of funds.<\/p>\n

But there is another aspect \u00a0to this not mentioned in the Guardian article, which is that so many of the prosecutions that are reported by HMRC \u00a0appear to be targeted at small traders. \u00a0Now I am not, for one minute, arguing that there is not a problem with small traders evading tax: there undoubtedly is. \u00a0Nor \u00a0am I arguing that they should not be prosecuted: there is a good case for them being so. \u00a0What is notable, however, is the absence of substantial prosecutions, many relating to offshore, \u00a0where we are well aware that there are more significant funds involved in many of the cases addressed but which do not, however, \u00a0seem to end in court action. \u00a0There is a very good question \u00a0to be answered as to why that is the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was amused by the presentation of this Guardian article this morning: I did wonder if there was an implication that I was now the
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