Tax investigations reduced

HMRC probes into the wealthiest 'tax dodgers' halved

The number of civil investigation cases opened by an HMRC fraud unit investigating offshore, corporate and wealthy taxpayers has fallen by more than half in five years. Figures obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveal civil investigations opened by the offshore, corporate and wealthy unit, part of HMRC's fraud investigation service, fell from 1,417 in 2018/19 to 627 in 2022/23. HMRC says its investigation service is focusing on the highest-value tax fraud and the figures do not take account of overall compliance activity, with 300,000 "interventions" opened in 2022/23.