The newspaper reported that up to £1bn may be saved by a crackdown on evasion schemes.
Alastair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is expected to announce plans to double the maximum penalty for offshore evaders to 200% of the tax owed.
The move follows an announcement in December’s pre-Budget Report to claw back £5bn in unpaid taxes as the Government seeks to cut its large deficit following the financial crisis.
The newspaper quoted a source that said HM Revenue and Customs is becoming good at detecting who the people are that are hiding money offshore.
The Budget comes at a very politically sensitive time for the UK with a General Election expected in May and the two leading political parties are jousting over how to cut the £170bn budget deficit.
Darling is expected to use the Budget to set out his plans for economic recovery as the country tentatively emerges from recession.
The chancellor must balance any sweeteners in the Budget with the need to cut spending and take tough decisions to help rebuild the economy. The latter two are potential vote losers unless he can convince the electorate to take the medicine for a healthier future.
