Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to assess the levels of (a) tax avoidance and (b) tax evasion within the economy.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Table 7.1 of the online tables shows the illustrative tax gap time series by behaviour, including avoidance and evasion. The tax gap for avoidance was £1.8 billion and for evasion was £5.5 billion in tax year 2022 to 2023. The online tables are available at: Measuring tax gaps tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).