Dawn raids on tax evaders up 30% as prosecutions double

Smaller increase in number of convictions

clock • 2 min read

Dawn raids on suspected tax evaders have increased by one-third to 669 over the five years to March, figures released by HMRC have shown.

Over the same period, the number of evasion-related prosecutions more than doubled from 501 to 1067, highlighting HMRC's effort to sharpen its focus on tax cheats, the FT reported. Pinsent Masons head of tax Jason Collins told the paper dawn raids — searches of premises that are carried out when a tax fraud is suspected — were a vital way for HMRC to get hold of crucial evidence. Once HMRC has been granted a search warrant by a magistrate, it can use a dawn raid to seize personal documents, emails and electronic files from individuals as evidence to secure prosecutions for tax evasion...

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