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Tag Archive for: serious tax investigations

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Tax Investigations Lack a Deterrence Effect – Bloomberg Tax Article – Tax Evasion

UK’s Serious Civil Tax Investigations Lack a Deterrence Effect

Tax Evasion and HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service

In this article for Bloomberg Tax we covered how HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, with some 5,500 new investigative officers promised in the UK’s recent budgets and the June Spending Review, are still expected to “do more, with more” to increase the deterrence effect of their most serious civil tax investigations.

Anecdotally, it seems the chains have still not come off in the case of HMRC’s most aggressive tax investigations, carried out by the Fraud Investigation Service, or FIS, where large amounts of tax are believed to be at risk and/or suspicions of tax fraud are alleged; predominantly working on tax evasion cases.

Despite an impressive responsibility, staff numbers have stayed stubbornly close to or below 5,000 across the country. Anecdotal evidence shows that the public is not afraid of FIS civil investigations and is seldom aware that a person has been subject to one—so the low number of investigations has a poor deterrence effect.

Over the 2024-2025 period, only 450 new such investigations were commenced (down from 480 in the 2023-2024 period), although FIS still managed to secure almost £190 million ($257 million) in revenue.

Here is the link to the full article at Bloomberg Tax; read on to learn more.

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Its serious! HMRC civil tax investigations

Its serious! HMRC civil tax investigations – Tax Insider (FEBRUARY 2025)

 

Here’s an updated article from Amit about serious, civil HMRC tax investigations, focusing on Code of Practice 9 (COP9, CDF) and Code of Practice 8 (COP8) investigations:

Written for Tax Insider: Tax Investigations: When Jail Is a Risk

“When it comes to tax investigations, HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is known for its aggressive and intrusive tactics, especially in cases involving large amounts of tax at risk or suspected tax fraud. While the investigative approach hasn’t changed much, the consequences can be severe.

In the February issue of Business Tax Insider, Amit Puri dives deep into HMRC’s most in-depth investigations and explores the circumstances where jail time may be a real possibility.”

If you don’t already have a Tax Insider subscription, give their free 14-day trial a go.

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