In both the U.K. and the U.S., tax authorities avoid prosecuting the wealthy for fear of legal and political backlash.
People walk past a sign outside HM Revenue & Customs in central London, U.K., on April 22, 2023.HM Revenue & Customs investigations led to prosecutions against just 11 “wealthy” people last year, an investigation by theCritics say the figure, obtained by freedom of information requests, suggests the UK tax inspector is doing too little to punish rich tax cheats at a time when the Treasury faces financial problems and millions of Britons struggle to make ends meet.
“At a time when families are counting every penny spent for mealtimes and totting up the cost of keeping their lights on, HMRC should be doubling down on those who can most afford to pay their taxes — especially so for those doing all they can to avoid paying them.” “[This] focus on financial [recovery] means they’re not using the criminal law as they should,” he said. “The problem is that [it undermines] the rule of law if people are able to do tax evasion, get caught, and then not face criminal penalties.
The number of criminal investigations opened by the agency has increased since hitting a low during the pandemic; however, the number of new investigations opened last year was still less than half those it managed at its peak in 2016-17. Ali said: “HMRC must clamp down much harder on tax evasion and it must be given the appropriate funding and powers to enable it to do so.
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