Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 5
40th Report - Collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals
Published 16 Jul 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Too many compliance investigations last too long, with too few leading to penalties and prosecutions. HMRC has different actions it can take against taxpayers who it identifies are at risk of not paying the right tax, including penalties, civil investigations into taxpayers suspected of fraud, and criminal investigations. The average time it took for HMRC to close an investigation increased every year over the period 2018–19 to 2022–23 and, for investigations yielding more than £100,000, the average duration in 2023–24 was 40 months. But in 2023–24, there were only 25 criminal prosecutions of wealthy individuals, and 456 penalties, down from 1,747 penalties in 2022–23. HMRC’s current ambitions to increase prosecutions and penalties are underwhelming, given that its ambition for a 20% increase in the number of people charged with tax fraud would only mean another five cases annually for the wealthy population. It is particularly disappointing that HMRC has issued no penalties to enablers of tax evasion, despite acknowledging unscrupulous advisers often play a key role in helping the wealthy evade tax. We are also unconvinced that HMRC fully utilises the deterrent effect of publicising successful prosecutions, despite it acknowledging the value of publicising high value, high-profile cases. recommendation a. HMRC should assess whether it is using its powers to tackle non-compliance by the wealthy sufficiently, in particular, whether it makes sufficient use of available sanctions. b. HMRC should investigate and report back to the Committee on why it has not been able to issue any penalties to enablers of tax evasion, and how it plans to start using them as an effective sanction and deterrent. As part of this, HMRC should consider setting an annual target for the number of penalties it issues. c. HMRC should also show more ambition for the number of prosecutions of wealthy individuals evading tax, given its current plan is to increase the number charged each year by onl
From: Public Accounts Committee, 40th Report - Collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals (HC 827), 16 July 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fortieth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 16 September 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourtieth report from Session 2024-26
Published 15 October 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the Committee's recommendations, setting mostly Autumn 2026 target dates, while declining one specific proposal on penalty targets.
- On the plan to increase yield from wealthy taxpayers, the government agrees and HMRC "will publish its plan in spring 2026" with timelines and outcomes for each objective.
- On data about billionaires and wealth, the government agrees. HMRC will provide the Committee with assurance by autumn 2026 that identified billionaires with a UK tax footprint have an allocated Customer Compliance Manager.
- On penalties for enablers of tax evasion, the government agrees to the recommendation but HMRC "is not minded to set an annual target", because issuing penalties "is dependent on the behaviours shown by taxpayers and enablers in each specific case".
- On the wealthy tax gap, the government agrees, and HMRC "will write to the Committee in Autumn 2026" updating on progress in improving the estimate.