Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
HMRC could not tell us how many billionaires pay tax in the United Kingdom and explained that income and chargeable gains determine whether someone pays tax, not whether they are a billionaire. UK tax legislation does not require taxpayers to report data on their wealth, only on income and taxable events. HMRC said it therefore does not hold a list of billionaires, or have a legal mechanism for collecting information on taxpayers’ wealth.27 HMRC explained that, before this year when the non-dom regime was removed, a large number of non-domicile billionaires may have been resident in the UK with no taxation payable.28 It expects the removal of the non-dom regime, and the new requirement for these individuals to report their foreign income and gains, will enhance its information on and understanding of the some of the wealthiest individuals.29
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.