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<p>Tax evasion is always illegal and HMRC’s aim is for everyone to pay the tax that is legally due, no matter who they are. HMRC’s role is to make it easy to get tax right for the compliant majority and make it hard for the dishonest minority to cheat the system.</p><p>HMRC has achieved a long-term reduction in the UK’s tax gap from 7.5% in 2005-06 to 4.8% (£35.8 billion) in 2021-22 (the latest estimate). The tax gap is composed of a range of customer behaviours: non-payment, use of avoidance schemes, legal interpretation, error, failure to take reasonable care, evasion, the hidden economy and criminal attacks on the tax system.</p><p> </p><p>Evasion is when people or businesses deliberately do not declare or account for what they owe. It made up 0.6% or £4.7 billion of the £35.8 billion.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC works to prevent fraud, tackle avoidance and evasion by designing policies and processes which minimise risk, by promoting good compliance with the tax system through education initiatives and responding with a range of interventions, capabilities and sanctions given to them by Parliament, including the exercising of strong civil and criminal investigation powers.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, the Government has introduced over 200 measures to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, including 21 measures introduced since 2021 that are forecast to raise over £7 billion. Of these measures, 4 measures were announced at the Autumn Statement 2022 and are forecast to raise £5 billion in tax revenues over the next five years.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC will continue to work hard, putting in place measures which mean we can go even further in reducing the tax gap, and making sure taxpayers and businesses meet their obligations and pay the tax they owe.</p><p> </p><p>Published information: ‘Measuring tax gaps tables 2023’ (Table 7.1) at gov.uk.</p> |