The section of HMRC that concerns itself with tax dodging by affluent individuals is to target those with a net worth of at least £1m, marking significant growth for the division that originally concerned itself with people valued at £2.5m or more.
An extra 100 inspectors will be recruited to scrutinise the affairs of 500,000 of the wealthiest people in the UK: an expansion of around 200,000.
The so-called affluent unit was launched in October 2011, bringing together 200 specialists using innovative risk assessment techniques to identify areas in which well-off individuals avoid or evade tax. The yield in the first full year was £44m, claims the Revenue.
As part of the unit's expansion, the team working on the Liechtenstein disclosure facility is to be doubled. It is expected to bring in £3bn, around triple the amount than anticipated when the initiative was signed into effect.
