This was a third more than the £16bn it pulled in over the previous year, and Roy Maugham, tax partner at UHY Hacker Young said HMRC’s more hardline approach is reflected in the figures.
To date, HMRC has targeted more than 30 business sectors including lawyers, online traders and the construction industry.
In a further initiative, HMRC today launched an advertising campaign warning tax cheats to declare all their income before it is too late.
The campaign, which will use outdoor advertising, is another part of HMRC’s targeted approach to get taxpayers to pay the right amount of tax at the right time.
David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “Most people play by the rules and pay what they owe, but HMRC is cracking down on those who don’t. Using the £917 million the Government has made available to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud, HMRC is closing in on tax cheats.”
HMRC has set up a website – www.gov.uk/sortmytax – to help support those who want to pay the correct tax.
HMRC’s increasingly aggressive approach to tax avoidance led to a 64% rise in the revenue it generated from investigations into self assessment tax returns in the 2011-2012 tax year.
International Adviser reported in October that the Revenue received £268m in the 2010-2011 tax year compared with £440m in the last tax year.
