Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

(asked on 23rd March 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were the subject of a criminal prosecution by HMRC in each calendar year from (a) 2005 to (b) 2020; and in respect of how many offences those prosecutions were so brought in each of those years.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 13th April 2021

HMRC are able to provide data for questions 174103 and 174107. The earliest year for which data is available is 2011-12; data as far back as 2005 is not available. In relation to questions 174104, 174105 and 174106, HMRC are unable to provide information, as this level of data is not held centrally.

The following table (Table 1) details those individuals subject to criminal prosecution by HMRC each year since records began in 2011/2012. In order to obtain the total prosecutions figures, convictions and acquittals are included.

HMRC do not hold a central count of the offences relating to individual prosecutions, and so HMRC have provided prosecution totals only for each respective year. Please note HMRC report on a financial year basis and as such they have provided the data in that format and not by calendar year.

The reduced number of prosecutions is the result of HMRC increasingly focusing their criminal investigations on the most severe fraud, where a visible deterrent is needed or where other compliance approaches are likely to be ineffective; often this is at the top end of the highest-harm and most complex organised crime and serious frauds, where criminal interventions have the most impact.

HMRC’s publicly stated policy is clear that they deal with serious fraud by using the most cost-effective civil interventions when appropriate. HMRC focus criminal investigations on those cases where the behaviour is very severe, where civil sanctions alone will not work and where a criminal prosecution will act as a strong deterrent to others. HMRC’s focus is on reaching the right outcome for the UK, rather than chasing arbitrary targets for arrests and prosecutions.

It should also be noted that HMRC are not a prosecuting authority. HMRC prepare cases to the highest evidential standard and pass the case to the relevant prosecuting authority to make a decision on whether the case proceeds to court, or not.

Table 1:

Prosecutions

Financial Year

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

Total

449

576

761

709

880

887

917

749

691

HMRC are unable to provide data in relation to questions 174104, 174105 and 174106 as they only hold prosecution details at individual level. The level of data requested would be held by the various case teams on a case by case basis, but HMRC do not hold this centrally.

The following table (Table 2) details the number of individuals charged with Tax Evasion by HMRC each year since their records began in 2011/2012. The figures include all regimes excluding Drugs, International Trade, Miscellaneous : Obstruction, Money Laundering/Money Laundering Regulations (ML/MLR), Other, Other Prohibitions & Restrictions (OPR) and Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) (or name variances thereof). Please note HMRC report on a financial year basis and as such they have provided the data in that format and not by calendar year.

However, as there will be cases recorded under those regimes which form part of HMRC’s work to tackle tax evasion, HMRC are currently reviewing how they define and report on Tax Evasion, so HMRC have also provided the total number of charging decisions over the same period, to show the full picture.

Table 2:

Positive Charging Decisions

Year

Total

Tax Evasion

2011/12

545

501

2012/13

770

739

2013/14

915

880

2014/15

1288

1254

2015/16

1135

1066

2016/17

1097

1067

2017/18

999

914

2018/19

831

757

2019/20

573

548

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