The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said the amount of revenue lost was closer to \u00a3100bn, rather than \u00a336bn, and called on the government to shelve plans to close more than 100 offices across the UK, with the loss of thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n
The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, told Chief-Exec.com yesterday that since 2010 about 10,000 jobs had been cut from HMRC and the department planned to cut another 10,000 staff by 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that the tax gap remains persistently high \u2013 even by HMRC\u2019s own estimate \u2013 shows that there aren\u2019t enough staff in compliance [roles] and, rather than just remaining stable, the department should employ more and direct them more effectively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Serwotka said the government must invest in HMRC if it is serious about tackling tax avoidance and evasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead the Tories continue to cut its budget, leading to office closures and job losses,\u201d he said. \u201cStaff at HMRC work incredibly hard collecting and administering the taxes that fund the other public services we all rely on every day of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesman for HMRC\u00a0said the department had too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices which made it difficult to collaborate, modernise ways of working, and make the changes needed to transform its service to meet customer needs and clamp down further on the minority who tried to cheat the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new regional centres will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will also make a big contribution to the cities where they are based, providing high-quality, skilled jobs and supporting the Government\u2019s commitment for a national recovery that benefits all parts of the\u00a0UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"ce_chart_26_101\"](\"http:\/\/chief-exec.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/CE_chart_26_101.png\")
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The spokesman said HMRC had been relentless in its crackdown on tax evasion and avoidance, taking action to prevent such behaviour at the outset, and to detect and counter it effectively where it persisted. During the last Parliament,\u00a0HMRC\u00a0secured \u00a3100bn in additional compliance revenue as a result of actions taken to tackle evasion, avoidance and non-compliance, he said.<\/p>\n
The HMRC report said that over the past 10 years the tax gap had closed from 8.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tax gap estimate of \u00a336bn is \u00a311bn lower than it would have been if the percentage tax gap had remained at the 2005-06 level of 8.3 per cent,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust over half of the 2014-15 tax gap can be attributed to small and medium-sized enterprises, known as SMEs, and just over a quarter from large businesses. The remainder is split between criminals and individuals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201c\u2026Organised criminal gangs undertake co-ordinated and systematic attacks on the tax system. This includes smuggling goods such as alcohol or tobacco, VAT (value added tax) repayment fraud and VAT Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
By Aban Contractor<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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