HM Revenue and Customs is to name and shame those who underpay their tax by more than £25,000 according to new proposals released today.
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced in the Budget that loopholes would be closed and tax evasion dealt with more seriously. In line with this, HMRC have launched two new schemes to claw back some of the tax lost to underpayment and offshore havens.
Under the first scheme, those who are guilty of tax evasion exceeding £25,000 will be publicly named by HMRC. The Revenue will also publish the profession of the evaders, and details of how much they have underpaid.
Individuals who have underpaid by between £5,000 and £25,000 will be monitored closely by the Revenue in order to spot future evasion.
Under the second set of plans, HMRC is running an "offshore disclosure opportunity" in an attempt to claw back tax on money that is held offshore.
Those who have failed to pay tax on interest earned from money held in these accounts will be given the opportunity to own up.
This was last attempted in 2007, when £450m was raised from 45,000 people. This followed new legislation allowing the government to force banks to disclose details of those with offshore accounts.
