HMRC fails to halt £10bn of tax avoidance schemes

HMRC has 41,000 open avoidance cases on its books and the schemes are thought to cost the exchequer £10bn in lost tax. The NAO said while the tax advance disclosure regime - brought in in 2004 - has helped the department make some important headway avoidance schemes are still being used by large numbers of taxpayers. It said in each of the last four years, more than 100 new avoidance schemes have been disclosed to HMRC. "While HMRC believes most of these would be defeated if tested in the courts, there is no evidence that their usage is reducing." the report added. Some 30,000 ...