§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the results of his Department's enforcement of vehicle excise duty in 1983, compared with 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RidleyThe results achieved by my Department and the police in 1983 in pursuing and prosecuting tax evaders showed a marked improvement on the previous year. My Department followed up some 882,000 reports alleging evasion in 1983 and as a result some 253,000 offenders were prosecuted or agreed to settle out of court by payment of a mitigated penalty. Both the number of prosecutions and the total revenue collected in fines, penaltie, and back duty—£14.6 million—were 50 per cent. higher than in 1982.
I am determined that this improvement should be sustained and that action should, wherever possible, be taken against evaders, who are a burden on the honest taxpayer. To assist and maintain the effective deployment of enforcement resources, my department will be conducting during the next few months a new survey of the extent of evasion.