According to data released to UK accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, HMRC’s yield from compliance work related to personal tax returns was £609m in 2012-2013, up from £441m in the previous year.
The accountancy firm said that one area in particular where HMRC has collected a significant proportion of its additional revenue is by investigating the tax affairs of those in the highest-paying tax band.
UHY Hacker Young explained that HMRC’s so-called “Affluent Team” scrutinises the tax affairs of around 300,000 people with incomes over £150,000 or wealth between £2.5m and £20m, and is expected to recover £586m in unpaid taxes by 2015.
Earlier this year, HMRC announced that it was expanding its Affluent Team with the hiring of 100 additional inspectors. The unit brought in £75m in 2012-13 and is expected to bring in the same amount – if not more – in 2013-14.
Mark Giddens, head of private client services at UHY Hacker Young, said: “Although the Affluent Team only investigates a small proportion of taxpayers, the wealth of these individuals and the complexity of their tax affairs gives HMRC scope for recovering far greater sums in unpaid tax.”
