Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Committee of Public Account’s annual report on HMRC’s performance, said:

“Today’s damning report shows that while the Government talks tough about tackling tax avoidance and evasion in reality they’re doing very little about it.

“The numbers of full-time HMRC staff have been significantly cut by the Tories which has devastated any efforts to crackdown on tax evasion.

“Labour’s Tax Transparency and Enforcement Plan, developed in consultation with leading tax specialists will crack down on the scandal of tax evasion which costs taxpayers billions of pounds every year.

“There is nothing patriotic about trying to get away with not paying your taxes. It’s only under a Labour Government that we can finally put an end to tax avoidance.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

·      The Committee finds that “HMRC may be painting too rose a picture of its success in reducing the tax gap…and HMRC’s Annual Report does not set out clearly what impact is compliance work…has on reducing the tax gap”

·      The Committee recommends “HMRC should report each year on the effect its work to generate compliance yield is having on its efforts to reduce the tax gap. As part of this, HMRC should assess how accurate its compliance estimates turn out to be in practice”.

·      The numbers of full-time HMRC staff were cut from 66,900 to 58,600 from April 2011 to March 2016. A fall of 8,300
HMRC, Departmental Overview 2015-16, October 2016
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Departmental-Overview-2015-16-HM-Revenue-Customs.pdf