§ Rev. William McCreaasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the numbers of Inland Revenue staff on investigative work over the past five years, and the amount produced in terms of extra tax and penalties and interest in each of those years in respect of (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. MooreThe investigation of tax evasion is part of the normal duties of Inland Revenue staff. The effort, conventionally measured in terms of staff unit equivalents, applied by the staff of the Department as a whole to investigative work in Great Britain in each of the last five years ending 31 October is:
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Year Number 1979 1,650 1980 1,659 1981 1,966 1982 2,166 1983 2,495 The figure of 2,495 for 1983 is not directly comparable with the earlier years. Roughly one-third of the apparent increase reflects a refinement of the calculation of the staff effort devoted to investigative work in tax districts made possible by improved management information.
The statistics on amounts produced are not kept in such a way as to provide a precise answer. But the following table gives the best estimate available of the amounts of tax, interest and penalties produced in Great Britain in each of the last five years ending 31 October:
Year £ million 1979 99.8 1980 127.9 1981 155.9 1982 250.1 1983 344.0 The equivalent figures for staff units and amounts in respect of Northern Ireland are set out in the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Peter Robinson) on 14 February 1984 at columns 107 and 109.