A look at interesting figures about HMRC prosecutions
KEY POINTS
- HMRC prosecutions still weighted to excise duties but all areas show acceleration.
- Change at head of CPS unlikely to mean any relaxation.
- Survey shows that prosecutions should drive the behavioural changes HMRC want in SMEs.
- Campaign and task-force work should therefore continue.
Criminal tax evasion prosecutions accelerated sharply in the final six months of 2012/13 as HMRC stepped up the fight against deliberate fraud. The department delivered 617 successful prosecutions against a target of 565; a marked increase on the 202 achieved at the halfway point of the year.
The figures in Prosecution breakdown (below; click image to enlarge) were obtained via Freedom of Information requests and do not include those arising from frauds organised by criminal groups.
While they show...