Tax officials to soften stance on avoidance

Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HMRC, said there had been examples of officials being too "tough" in disputes over tax assessments. "HMRC is packed full of very intelligent people, but we are sometimes too black-and-white about the law," he told the Financial Times. The move, part of a drive for greater efficiency on the part of the cash-strapped department, could produce what Hartnett called a "surge" in revenue over a couple of years, on top of extra money being collected in cases of individual tax evasion. HMRC has registered over recent months the details of 700 o...