More evidence HMRC facing up to ‘tax gap’
Still think UKuncut is having no difference?
Here’s more proof that HMRC’s accountants are waking up to what is called the ‘tax gap. An event at the House of Commons next month will discuss this issue.
Held by the Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC), the meeting is titled ‘Tackling the Tax Gap: Defeating the Deficit’.
It aims to “promote a high level debate about how to close the tax gap”.
They say:
There are three main ways the UK can reduce our Budget deficit, and there has been huge amount of focus on two of them, cutting public spending, and supporting the economy to grow, but very little focus on the third, making sure the we are collecting all the tax owed to us. With uncollected taxes estimated to be between £40 and £50 billion per year, there needs to be an urgent focus on how to ensure that taxes are collected efficiently and fairly to support the deficit reduction strategy.
High profile panel members will discuss how the deficit could be reduced through strategies and investment in HMRC and its workforce. We are hopeful that Minister David Gauke will speak and we are delighted that Caroline Lucas MP, David Hanson MP, and Chas Roy Chowdhury, Head of Taxation at ACCA have also agreed to contribute to the discussion.
ARC is part of the FDA, representing senior tax professionals and managers who work in HMRC.
These are the senior tax inspectors, accountants, lawyers, policy makers and managers who implement the Government’s policies, draft tax laws and administer the tax system fairly. ARC members are highly skilled and trained, bringing in the money to fund vital public services for the benefit of everyone living in the UK.
As far as I can tell this event, on 16th March, is invite only, but will ask if anyone can register.
Contact t.windle@connectpa.co.uk if you’re interested.
Update: USuncut get featured on the US cable network MSNBC
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Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments
Cue at least five people sneering that this OBVIOUSLY has nothing to do with protest groups and calling you arrogant for thinking that politicians might just possibly listen to a large and vocal organisation.
Top work, guys. Keep it up.
But Sunny, still waiting for an answer as to how much of the deficit this will actually reduce each year?
Lay estimate I saw was £40bn out of an annual of £160. So the protests are only concentrating on 1/4 of the cuts issues….
Shame HMRC is losing 13,000 jobs whilst George Osborne is changing tax law to reduce the amount they can legitimately chase…
And I wonder if ARC – “the senior tax inspectors, accountants, lawyers, policy makers and managers who implement the Government’s policies, draft tax laws and administer the tax system fairly” – are the very people who negotiated the shocking ‘settlement’ with the likes of Vodafone in the first place?
@2
“Lay estimate I saw was £40bn out of an annual of £160. So the protests are only concentrating on 1/4 of the cuts issues….”
Aw, no way. May as well not bother then, just let the parasite class carry on quaffing champers in tax havens while laughing at people who actually pay their entire tax bill and work for a miniscule fraction of what the scum like Green et al earn by sweating their workers for every drop.
Sorry if that sounds hyperbolic, but these bastards must pay.
Sunny,
this event is being held as part of ARC union’s Defeat the Deficit campaign. More information is available at http://arctheunion.wordpress.com
Hmmm, UK Uncut is certainly having an impact – in the public sphere and the political one – and, of course, deserves our full support, but I’m not sure you can claim that this event is “proof HMRC’s accountants are waking up to what is called the tax gap”.
ARC is the part of FDA – the ‘union’ for senior civil servants – that covers HMRC staff and has been campaigning on this issue for a while (though not as vocally as PCS) and is the sort of event that campaign groups hold from time to time.
I’m not saying it’s not good and necessary, and people should try and go if they can – and lobby their own MPs etc etc – but I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick a bit.
A friend at HMRC told me that their board meeting the other day focussed almost entirely on UKUncut, and that the consequence was an attempt to dvelop a strategy to increase the amount collected from big businesses. Presumably this is part of the process of developing that strategy…
Adam
@4
I didnt say that it wasnt worth doing, just that it’s impact isnt as big as many claim it is.
@7
HMRC chiefs like other departments that raise money, are under pressure to bring in anything extra they can. They may well be studying UKuncut, but unless the law is changed (which you’re looking at 18 months+ to actually do) then there is little they can actually do as these firms are operating within legal taxation boundries.
Even then historical claimed tax avoidance like Arcadia and Vodafone cant be chased after as that’s been and gone so only anything going forward from the point of law change can be targeted.
Which is why I have issues with tax avoidance being the main focus of the anti-cuts movement.
Clearly ARC don’t believe R. Murphy then: they say £40, billion, he says £125 billion.
Is this HMRC facing up to a ‘tax gap’ or HMRC positioning itself to reduce possible future cuts?
Please also bear in mind that the cost of collecting a tax should be less than the revenue gained otherwise it’s just not worthwhile collecting it. A fine example of this is the highly unfair IR35.
“With uncollected taxes estimated to be between £40 and £50 billion per year, there needs to be an urgent focus on how to ensure that taxes are collected efficiently and fairly”
This indicates to me it is more about tax evasion rather than tax avoidance, which I get the impression is what UKuncut is focussing on. Two very different issues.
brilliant … a meeting!
no, seriously, more power to their elbow. If the HMRC + legislators can figure out ways to stop legal tax dodging by the rich and powerful, that’d be good news.
You know how us taxpayers own lots of shares in the banks that went bust? Rather than letting the government sell those shares, couldn’t they just give them to us? ‘Cause those banks seem to be doing rather well nowadays. And it was our collective risk that bailed them out.
Just a thought.
Hmm. Launch date of UK Uncut: October 2010.
Announcment of extra spending to chase tax evading companies and wealthy people to cut by a quarter the amount not being collected each year: September 2010
Sunny, I’ve no doubt whatsoever that UK Uncut are making a difference, but ARC have been campaigning on this for ages, Danny Alexander was campaiginng on it for ages, he helped write the policy on this that got into Govt policy, and this is a clear extension of policies announced before UKuncut were launched.
This is no evidence whatsoever of the effect of UK uncut. What Rich says at 6 is anecdotal evidence, but this story? Nothing whatsoever. Because this is just preannounced policy and the discussed implementation thereof.
So while I think UK Uncut is making a difference, this? This aint nowt to do with them. That you’ve actually noticed it, and journalists are paying attention to the agenda, is to do with them, but you really ought to have noticed it before.
It is, after all, part of the policy platform you voted for in May.
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