TAX EVASION

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has not delivered on its pledge to increase criminal prosecutions of wealthy individuals and corporates by the end of 2020. A freedom of information request by Kingsley Napley revealed an 'abysmal' performance by HMRC. HMRC set itself an initial target, five years ago, of 100 prosecutions a year. However, no company was prosecuted in the five years from 2015 to 2020. Just 548 individuals were charged with tax evasion in the 2019-2020 tax year compared to 1,288 in the 2014-2015 tax year. 21 December 2020