HMRC set new tax evasion target

A letter sent to HMRC by Chancellor George Osborne says it wants the department to raise £17bn this tax year from businesses and individuals who cheat the system, according to the Daily Mail. The government said HMRC had been "highly successful" in increasing tax revenues in this area, raising £13.9bn in the last financial year. But it has now asked it to raise an additional £3.1bn in 2012/13. Osborne branded tax avoidance "morally repugnant" and announced measures to prevent abuse in last month's Budget