HMRC

Thirty two of the UK’s top tax cheats received a total of more than 150 years in jail last year, as HM Revenue & Customs continued its crackdown on tax evasion.

Two hundred wealthy investors accused of sheltering millions of pounds in an Isle of Man based tax avoidance scheme have been sent letters by HM Revenue & Customs warning them they are to be investigated, according to a recent article in the Financial Times.

HM Revenue & Customs is giving a settlement opportunity to those who invested in certain tax avoidance schemes, many of which are registered in Jersey, with the aim of contacting eligible investors by the end of January 2013.

Tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance were once again targets of the UK Chancellor George Osborne when he gave his Autumn Statement this afternoon.

HM Revenue & Customs is sending letters directly to 1,500 people who it believes have signed up to one particular avoidance scheme.

HM Revenue & Customs is currently investigating 41,000 cases of tax avoidance in the UK with an estimated £10.2bn at stake, according to a detailed report conducted by the National Audit Office, which said “there is little evidence HMRC is making progress in preventing the sale of highly contrived tax avoidance schemes”.

It is time HM Revenue & Customs accept that a general amnesty for tax evaders should be put in place, according to Gary Heynes, private client group partner at chartered accountants, Baker Tilly.

HM Revenue & Customs is warning UK residents with Swiss bank accounts that the “days of hiding money to evade tax are over” as the imposition of new tax laws on 1 January draws ever closer.

HMRC clawed back a record £21bn from its investigations into tax avoiders and evaders in the year to March, according to accountant UHY Hacker Young.

HM Revenue & Custom’s increasingly aggressive approach to tax avoidance has led to a 64% rise in the revenue it generated from investigations into self assessment tax returns in the 2011-2012 tax year.