Westminster City Council says it is waging a war after concerns some of the area's shops are being used for 'dirty money'.
Sweet shops on Oxford Street are set to face stricter rules after Westminster City Council revealed plans to tackle those it believes are not paying tax.is already under way for alleged business rate evasion of £7.9m.Council leader Adam Hug said: "The people selling overpriced and often out-of-date sweets are cheating the UK taxpayer and very often swindling their customers into the bargain.
Councillor Hug added: "Westminster's dirty secret has been known for many years but those in power looked the other way for too long as money of questionable origin flooding into London and investors took advantage of our relatively lax laws." "We want to work with government ministers and agencies to crack down on dirty money and ensure agencies like HMRC and the National Crime Agency are properly resourced."He added that not only do the stores "diminish the status of Westminster as a place to do business" but, by occupying the whole building, they reduce the housing supply for residents.
"We are proud of the diverse resident population of Westminster," said the Labour politician "but this data suggests something troubling, that the use of Westminster as a location to hide ill-gotten gains in the property market is spiralling out of control". "With the cost-of-living crisis impacting the most vulnerable in our society, it is only right that the council takes the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct and supports those businesses who pay their fair share of tax - contributing to the vital funding front-line services need."
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