Fines issued by HMRC surge by a third in three years

The amount of penalties issued by HMRC has increased by nearly a third (32%) in three years according to official data obtained by Price Bailey.

In 2018-19 HMRC issued penalties of £816m up from £620m in 2015-16. This is a much faster rate of increase than the amount of tax collected by HMRC which has increased by 19.2% from £495bn to £590bn over the same period.    

The top-30 accountancy firm believes the data illustrates how much more effective HMRC has become in identifying non-compliance while also imposing more punitive fines. It singles out HMRC’s Connect system which was launched with limited functionality in 2010 but has since gained additional capabilities and access to data.

Jay Sanghrajka tax partner at Price Bailey said: ‘The amount of data HMRC collects and cross-references allows it to form a more complete understanding of taxpayers’ liabilities. So it can challenge...