Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
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)
The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 listed 156 billionaires, compared with 165 last year. We asked HMRC if it has ever tried to link the Sunday Times Rich List with its own records to estimate how many billionaires on the list are tax resident in the UK. HMRC told us that it has access to a huge range of internal and external data which it uses to identify wealthy individuals, cross-check across data sources, and target its compliance work as effectively as possible but it would not be drawn on the use of specific data.30 We understand that in the United States, the Inland Revenue Service has worked with researchers to link its data to the Forbes 400 list, their equivalent of the Sunday Times Rich List. We asked HMRC if it would allow academics to do something similar with its data. HMRC agreed 25 C&AG’s Report, para 2.14 26 Qq 120-122 27 Qq 21-22, 25-26, 28-30 28 Q 35 29 Q 120 30 Qq 31-33 12 that, in theory, it would be possible for academics to use its Datalab to securely access its data for research purposes and use other information to do analysis.31
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.