Mr. Howarthasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Newark (Mr. Alexander) on 27 October 1983, Official Report, c. 182, whether he has any working estimate of the amount of tax lost through the black economy (a) generally and (b) from the construction industry.
§ Mr. MooreAs regards the direct taxes generally I refer my hon. Friend to the reply to the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown) on 7 February 1984 at c.565. As regards VAT generally, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing) on 24 January at c. 469. In relation to the construction industry in particular I regret that information is not available that would enable the general estimate for VAT to be broken down by individual sectors of the economy.
Mr. Howarthasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce measures to secure the payment of taxes withheld in the construction industry through the operation of the black economy.
§ Mr. MooreIn the Inland Revenue certain additional staff are being deployed in local tax offices, in the PAYE446W audit force and in the board's investigation office; this increased deployment has been planned expressly to combat the operations of the black economy wherever it is to be found, including the construction industry.
In Customs and Excise a further 150 staff will be employed on visiting VAT traders specifically to improve control.