Wednesday, 16 January 2013 15:35
HMRC to add 100 inspectors to target affluent investors avoiding tax
HM Revenue and Customs is seeking to bring in an extra £75m per year with the recruitment of 100 inspectors in its Affluent Compliance team.
The unit targets people who use tax avoidance schemes, bank accounts in Switzerland, avoid Stamp Duty and have offshore property portfolios.
Candidates with corporate and commercial experience in personal tax are sought for inspector and lead case director roles thanks to a £5m Government investment in the team.
The affluent population is described as "those with income over £150,000 or wealth between £2.5 and £20m" and consists of about 300,000 people. The unit is also expanding to target those with wealth in the range of £1m to £2.5m.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The unit, which was set up in 2010, is on target to bring in £586m by the end of 2015.
Exchequer Secretary David Gauke said: "The vast majority of people pay their way. Dodging tax is immoral, illegal and unaffordable and the minority who cheat are increasingly finding that, thanks to the work of the Affluent Team, they have made a big mistake.
Roger Atkinson, Director of the Affluent Teams, said: "We will recruit from within HMRC and externally and the new team will be fully operational by April and focused on delivering an additional £75 million a year. Good quality intelligence is central to catching the cheats and so we are expanding our Affluent Intelligence Unit fourfold. This is very good news for all honest taxpayers."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
The unit targets people who use tax avoidance schemes, bank accounts in Switzerland, avoid Stamp Duty and have offshore property portfolios.
Candidates with corporate and commercial experience in personal tax are sought for inspector and lead case director roles thanks to a £5m Government investment in the team.
The affluent population is described as "those with income over £150,000 or wealth between £2.5 and £20m" and consists of about 300,000 people. The unit is also expanding to target those with wealth in the range of £1m to £2.5m.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The unit, which was set up in 2010, is on target to bring in £586m by the end of 2015.
Exchequer Secretary David Gauke said: "The vast majority of people pay their way. Dodging tax is immoral, illegal and unaffordable and the minority who cheat are increasingly finding that, thanks to the work of the Affluent Team, they have made a big mistake.
Roger Atkinson, Director of the Affluent Teams, said: "We will recruit from within HMRC and externally and the new team will be fully operational by April and focused on delivering an additional £75 million a year. Good quality intelligence is central to catching the cheats and so we are expanding our Affluent Intelligence Unit fourfold. This is very good news for all honest taxpayers."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.