Investigations into businesses last nearly four years

HMRC’s tax investigations into the UK’s largest businesses – those with an annual turnover of £200m – now last an average of 45 months according to research by law firm Pinsent Masons.

The firm says that around half of the 2 000 largest businesses covered by HMRC’s large business service in the UK are being formally investigated by HMRC at any one time.

Bryn Reynolds partner (non-lawyer) at Pinsent Masons said: ‘HMRC needs to be more rigorous in closing long running cases down. Having cases running for three four or five years should be the exception rather than the average.

‘The government has pledged additional funding to HMRC to recruit more tax officers aiming to improve tax collection and reduce unpaid liabilities. However there are concerns over whether increasing resources will actually lead to faster resolutions given HMRC’s internal...