HMRC high net worth unit

HMRC"s high net worth unit, the specialist division dealing with the tax affairs of the UK’s wealthiest individuals, has just passed the £1bn total for compliance yield, exceeding its own targets say Harris & Co accountants Northampton #accountantsnorthampton

The figure was revealed by David Gauke, financial secretary to the Treasury, when he spoke at HMRC’s annual stakeholder conference this week.

Official figures show that since it was set up in 2009 the compliance brought in by the High Net Worth Unit has increased year on year to £268m in 2013-14, a 20% increase on the year before when £222m was brought in.

Overall, since 2009-10, when the unit recovered £85m, the total tax take had reached £937m by the end of this financial year. An HMRC spokesman said an additional £68m of tax recovered between April and July 2014 has now pushed that total to £1bn.

Gauke said:

‘HMRC vigorously polices the rules ensuring it collects the tax that is due, and takes tough action against the minority who seek to avoid their responsibilities. This approach is clearly working as HMRC’s High Net Worth Unit has delivered £1bn in compliance yield. This is against targets totaling £894m and is further evidence that the government’s investment of nearly £1bn in HMRC to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud is paying off.’

HMRC’s high net worth unit is made up of about 400 staff in 31 customer teams based in eight offices around the country. It deals with the tax affairs of the 6,200 wealthiest individual taxpayers who have a net worth of £20m or more. Individuals are assigned a relationship manager, which HMRC says allows for detailed oversight and the development of a close understanding of the tax risks among these wealthy individuals.