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More sponging parasites caught.

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"UK special investigations team doubles tax haul in crackdown on the rich

HMRC department raised £1.5bn in 2023-24 tax year


Emma Agyemang
Published JUNE 7 2025

A UK special investigations team doubled its tax haul from wealthy people in 2023-24, compared with the previous year, in a crackdown on the rich.

A department at HM Revenue & Customs set up to target wealthy taxpayers netted more than £1.5bn in 2023-24, according to the latest data obtained from a freedom of information (FOI) request.

“HMRC have been set some very hard targets for extra tax collection by the chancellor. It is hard to see how they can achieve those targets without a sharp rise into tax investigations into the wealthy,” said Ian Robotham, legal director at Pinsent Masons, a law firm, which made the FOI request.

“I know from experience over the past five years, that there has been a focus from HMRC on wealthy individuals, as there is a perception and understanding that there is tax risk within the wealthier population,” added Nimesh Shah, chief executive of advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

Wealthy people, defined by HMRC as those who either earn more than £200,000 a year or with assets of more than £2mn, paid £119bn in personal taxes in 2023-24, an average of £140,000 per person. The sum represented 25 per cent of the UK’s personal tax receipts."

FT.com
 
You posted similar before, but didn't answer how much the other strata in society fiddled their taxes.
The total may well be a great deal more; but it's easier to go after larger sums per individual.
We know you like to rail about the rich
and that if there were a "clamp down on benefit fraud", you wouldn't post it.
And through pique you're llikely to remove posts you don't like.
 
The amount of benefit fraud is minute, despite what the papers say.
 
You posted similar before, but didn't answer how much the other strata in society fiddled their taxes.
The total may well be a great deal more; but it's easier to go after larger sums per individual.
We know you like to rail about the rich
and that if there were a "clamp down on benefit fraud", you wouldn't post it.
And through pique you're llikely to remove posts you don't like.
When have we not been clamping down on benefits fraud?

This unit is clearly great value for money.
 
Long may their supply of tax dodging billionaires continue.

It’s got to be more resource intensive to pursue the very wealthy if only because they have access to the best legal and accountancy brains. That must wear down the HMRC teams.
 
When have we not been clamping down on benefits fraud?

This unit is clearly great value for money.
"clamp down" indicates a change. I'm not aware of any change.
I'd assert you can maybe call people in this category rich, not wealthy.
I would agree, you're talking about millions of small business owners.

The amount of benefit fraud is minute, despite what the papers say.
Is it? How do you know?
I met a number of people claiming various things, through an 'exercise for disabled', class. A common topic of discussion was, how to weazle yourself a bit more, under various categories.
The rules are grey and weazleable at all levels. Obviously there's more to be gained by authorities which push back, at the end of the scale where the numbers are bigger.
I don't see why one end or the other has to be particularly called "Sponging parasites". It's the non taxpayers at the low end who are actually the bigger drain on the economy.
I think it speaks to the predudice and envy of the complainant.

blup said:
It’s got to be more resource intensive to pursue the very wealthy if only because they have access to the best legal and accountancy brains. That must wear down the HMRC teams.
Yup, I wonder if there's a known curve.
No point going after the trumps of the world. they have too much money to fight you with.
No point going after the tramps of the world, nothing much to recover.
The rich hunting grounds would be somewhere between those extremes. About at the JD level perhaps.
 
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"clamp down" indicates a change. I'm not aware of any change.
When have we not devoted significant resources to it? A quick Google implies that all the effort to deal with fraud and error on benefits recovered around £1.1 Billion.

It would be very interesting to see the amount of funding and manpower each arm had.
 
When have we not devoted significant resources to it? A quick Google implies that all the effort to deal with fraud and error on benefits recovered around £1.1 Billion.

It would be very interesting to see the amount of funding and manpower each arm had.
I didn't say we didn't seek to reduce fraud generally. Sponging parasites everywhere.

But if such efforts at the low end were increased, there would be complaints about chasing after the poor. We've had nothing but complaints about only allowing the poorest to get WFA. I look forward to my £182(?) next winter, which will go into the account with other handouts I don't need.
 
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