We must close the tax gap - Ward
David Ward MP has questioned the Treasury over whether the Government's plans to crack down on tax dodging go far enough.
Britain's "tax gap" is officially estimated to be £42 billion of avoidance, evasion and fraud.
The Coalition Government has announced plans to invest £900 million over the next four years to help close this gap. The treasury estimates that these measures will generate an extra £7 billion a year in revenues by 2013.
David Ward MP today questioned why the Government is not allocating more resources to HMRC when there are such high returns to be made.
Commenting, David Ward said:
"The Labour Government left us with a £42 billion tax gap of avoidance, evasion and fraud. All too often some of the richest people in society have avoided paying their fair share at the expense of ordinary hard working people who play by the rules.
"I welcome the fact that we now have a Government that is taking this issue seriously. The Coalition plans to invest £200 million per year to crack down on tax dodging, which will raise £7 billion per year toward tackling the deficit. This investment represents an almost 3000 per cent annual return for the British taxpayer.
"The government also needs to look at closing tax loopholes such as "non-dom" status and trust funds.
"But if we can get such a high rate of return on investment in the HMRC, then why stop at recovering just £7 billion of a £42 billion tax gap? We should be investing even more in HMRC's front line to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share towards tackling the deficit."