Heynes said the Revenue is currently engaged in a prolonged and many-fronted attack on tax evasion, the most recent part of which was the launch this week of a UK-wide advertising campaign warning “tax cheats” to declare all of the undeclared income “before it is too late”.
This new advertising campaign comes in addition to the Swiss/UK corporation agreement, which is due to come into force on 1 Jan 2013, the ongoing Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, the Europe Savings Directive and other tax information agreements as well as less formal “whistleblowing” routes.
“In the current climate where even tax avoidance is frowned upon, tax evasion is more than unacceptable,” said Heynes. “Clearly this campaign is another welcome weapon in the war against tax evasion, but perhaps it’s time for HMRC to accept that a “general amnesty” should now be put in place?”
