§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the estimated value added tax evasion figure for the United Kingdom in 1982; how much of this amount was recovered after investigation by officers in his Department; and if he will separate the Scottish figure from the totals in each case.
§ Mr. Hayhoe[pursuant to his reply, 2 July 1984, c.12]: In the financial year 1982–83 Customs and Excise staff detected underdeclarations of value added tax totalling £290 million of which almost £21 million was detected by officers working from VAT offices in Scotland. They estimate that a further £250 million to £500 million of underdeclarations were not detected. Based upon the population of registered traders in Scotland this suggests that about £20 million to 40 million of the undetected underdeclarations may have related to Scottish businesses.