‘Innocent victims of tax raiders’ was how the Daily Telegraph headed its front-page story on a huge rise in the number of investigations being carried out by HMRC.
Among the 237,000 investigations started in 2012-13 – double the number in the previous year – were an increasing number of middle-class professionals including doctors, lawyers and teachers. Experts said the expanded task force of criminal investigators were threatening people with bigger penalties.
HMRC reckons there is at least another £35 billion a year in undeclared tax to collect, so its drive against avoidance and evasion is not about to stop. Its next target may be small and medium sized companies. It definitely pays to keep your “tax house” in order. Some investments, if suitable for you in relation to your goals and appetite for risk, can help to considerably simplify your tax management and tax efficiency.