Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
HMRC secured funding to increase wealthy team by 400 staff, targeting £500m additional yield.
Recommendation
We asked HMRC about its ambitions and priorities for ensuring that wealthy individuals pay all the taxes that they should. HMRC told us that it has significant opportunity to do more and that is working with Ministers to secure the funding and ensure that the wealthy team has the capacity and capability it needs to undertake more activity.9 HMRC told us it has secured funding to increase the current wealthy team of around 1,000 people by an additional 400 staff. It aims to bring in at least an additional £500 million of yield over the next three or four years from more resources and activity focused on tackling wealthy offshore risks.10 5 C&AG’s Report, para 4 6 Committee of Public Accounts, Collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals written evidence 7 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.2, 3.3 8 Q 107 9 Qq 11, 67 10 Qq 11, 13, 49 9
Government Response Summary
HMRC will set out what investments will help improve a range of compliance outcomes for the wealthy customer population by Autumn 2026, after further design work on how the investment it has received through the Spending Review will be deployed. At Spring Statement 2025, the government announced plans to tackle offshore tax non‑compliance by the wealthy. The government published its Transformation Roadmap in Summer 2025 which sets out how HMRC will use investment to improve performance.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: Autumn 2026 4.2 At Spring Statement 2025, the government announced plans to tackle offshore tax non‑compliance by the wealthy. The government published its Transformation Roadmap in Summer 2025 which sets out how HMRC will use investment to improve performance. The First Permanent Secretary of HMRC has written to the Committee setting out how HMRC’s investment plans are intended to improve compliance outcomes overall. 4.3 HMRC is currently designing how the investment it has received through the Spending Review will be deployed. Following further design work, HMRC will set out what investments will help improve a range of compliance outcomes for the wealthy customer population. The department will set this out in more detail to the Committee by Autumn 2026.