Tax Gap, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion

HMRC define the “tax gap” as the difference between the amount of tax that they should be collecting and the amount they actually collect. In percentage terms this has been falling in recent years with the gap at 8.5% in 2005/06 and at 6.8% for 2012/2013, equating to £34bn for 2012/2013. The tax gap is comprised of amounts estimated to not have been collected because of t… Continue Reading

OECD Plan Bolsters Clampdown on International Tax Avoidance

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems and they have recently made recommendations that will help tax authorities to clampdown on int… Continue Reading

Aggressive Tax Avoidance is Morally Wrong

With all the news today about the aggressive Liberty tax avoidance scheme that was being used not just by celebrities, pop stars and sports stars to avoid tax but also by businessmen, doctors, lawyers and many others, you could be forgiven for thinking that all these people had committed a criminal offence. But, of course, tax avoidance is not illegal; tax evasion on the other hand i… Continue Reading