Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of companies subject to a creditor voluntary liquidation had HMRC as their main creditor in each of the last five years.

The requested information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Around 10 per cent of all insolvencies that go ahead are petitioned by HMRC, but HMRC will not be the main or sole creditor in every case. Similarly, insolvency action may be led by third parties, where HMRC is the main creditor, but no estimate of these cases is available.

HMRC only petitions for insolvency as a last resort after considering all alternative routes to recovery and engaging with taxpayers at every opportunity to encourage settlement of their tax debts before considering insolvency.