News
CPS Launch Tax Evasion Clampdown
22 - 01 - 2013
The number of cases of tax evasion and ‘dishonest’ tax avoidance taken to the criminal courts will increase fivefold over a four year period, the Director of Public Prosecutions vowed in a speech at the Crown Prosecution Service headquarters in London recently.
Keir Starmer suggested that the current economic climate has made it more important than ever to crack down on tax dodging.
‘It is, of course, always important to prosecute tax evasion but never more so than in this sort of hardship we find ourselves in now,’ he said.
He also attempted to debunk the ‘longstanding myth’ that tax evasion does not harm anyone.
‘Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. It is not a ‘fiddle’ in some sort of legal grey area. It is ordinary fraud involving dishonesty and greed. And we all pay for it.’
The number of tax evasion prosecutions has risen in recent years, from 200 in 2010-11 to 550 in 2011-12. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is aiming for 1,500 prosecutions by 2014-15.
It is estimated that tax evasion costs the UK economy £14bn a year.
