Third of UK 'tax gap' due to evasion or avoidance

Figures for 2010/11 have put the tax gap at £32bn, £1bn higher than that recorded in 2009/10 and 6.7% of total liabilities, HMRC said. A total of £9bn of this gap relates to tax avoidance and evasion. HMRC said tax is not collected for a number of reasons, including evasion and avoidance, as well as customer error, the hidden economy and criminal attacks. HMRC says tax avoidance "is not the same as legitimate tax planning".