Four reasons why HMRC had a bumper year
By International Adviser, 17 Jul 17
Latest figures from the UK tax office show that it netted £29bn ($37.6bn, €32.9bn) in the past year just by cracking down on tax evaders, with overall tax coffers up 7% to £580bn in 2016/17. Here’s a breakdown of why HMRC is having a record year in revenues, according to its annual report.
Introduced in 2014, accelerated payment notices (APNs) enable the UK tax authority to request full upfront payment of disputed tax within 90 days without the right of appeal.
The notices were designed to combat what HMRC sees as ‘abusive’ tax avoidance.
HMRC revealed that it has reached the end of its three-year APN programme, during which time it had issued more than 75,000 notices worth in excess of £7bn and collecting nearly £4bn.
“APNs are one of the most significant tools that we have to tackle avoidance by individuals and companies, removing their ability to defer payment of tax in ongoing disputes involving marketed tax avoidance schemes,” said the tax office.
Of the 75,000 notices it issued, HMRC said it received a total of 40,000 appeals. The tax office said it has considered more than 32,000 of these and around 90% of the notices were upheld as valid, with more than 80% confirmed in the original amount.
Tags: HMRC
