HMRC’s tax investigation yield jumps to £30.8bn

The total revenue HMRC generated from tax investigations and other compliance activity has risen to £30.8bn in 2021 up from £28bn in 2020 as it pursues tax lost to evasion or avoidance during the pandemic according to from Pinsent Masons.

In the past year HMRC raised £5.8bn from its tax investigations activity and prevented the loss of a further £11.2bn. It has also collected £6.4bn from closing tax loopholes such as one which allowed owners of second homes to avoid tax by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets.

A key area for HMRC is investigating tax it believes is underpaid by the biggest businesses. Income from investigations into the 2 000 biggest businesses in the year to 31 March 2021 brought in £8.6bn. It also accounted for 28% of all HMRC’s tax investigations yield last year. The department believes that £35.8bn of tax may...