HC Deb 07 December 1987 vol 124 cc74-5W
Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards the use of prosecution as a means of dealing with tax evasion.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 1 December 1987]: The law provides for money penalties to be the normal punishment for tax evasion. However the possibility of prosecution is an important deterrent to the spread of tax evasion. The Inland Revenue therefore considers prosecution where a fraud is particularly prevalent or where a case is a very serious one of its type.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Chancellor of the Excehquer if he will publish in theOfficial Report the number of full-time equivalent posts dedicated solely or mainly to the detection of tax evasion.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 1 December 1987]: 3,264 Inland Revenue officers, measured in staff unit equivalents, were assigned solely or mainly to investigation work at 31 March 1987.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details or estimates of the amounts of unpaid tax recovered by the Inland Revenue for each year since 1979 from(a) persons prosecuted for tax evasion and (b) persons dealt with but not prosecuted for tax evasion.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 1 December 1987]: The total yield—tax, interest and penalties—due from Inland Revenue investigations for each year since 1979 is as follows:

Year ending 31 October £ million
1979 111.6
1980 137.9
1981 165.1
1982 265.6

Year ending 31 March £ million
1983 304.8
1984 399.2
1985 594.4
1986 694.5
1987 741.3

It is not possible, except at disporportionate cost, to distinguish amounts relating to prosecution cases from those relating to non-prosecution cases. Nor is it possible to state how much of the amount due was ultimately recovered.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details or estimates of the number of persons dealt with by methods other than prosecution for tax evasion since 1979.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 1 December 1987]: The Inland Revenue figures do not distinguish between cases of outright fraud and other cases which have been investigated. Nor are the figures for the number of individuals concerned available. However, the number of cases where additional tax has become due as a result of an investigation is as follows:

Tax Office and Enquiry branch investigations
Number yielding extra tax only Number involving interest, or interest and penalties (in addition to tax)
Year to 31 October
1979 31,651 21,229
1980 30,870 22,344
1981 32,589 22,515
1982 35,649 27,656
Year to 31 March
1983 35,392 31,417
1984 33,585 37,249
1985 31,747 38,859
1986 27,105 37,484
1987 22,949 38,707

PAYE audit investigations
Number where only current year adjustments necessary Number where adjustments of earlier years necessary
1984–85 3,920 17,179
1985–86 3,879 20,431
1986–87 4,480 23,848

The method of recording information altered in 1984 and comparison with earlier years would not be meaningful.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of estimates of the amount of tax due but not recovered from persons known to be involved in tax evasion since 1979.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 1 December 1987]: This information is not held centrally.