Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee

9th Report - Tax evasion in the retail sector

Public Accounts Committee HC 355 Published 12 February 2025

Report Status

Government responded

Conclusions & Recommendations

27 items (10 recs)

Source

View on Parliament website ↗

Government Response

AI assessment · 26 of 27 classified

Accepted 14

Accepted in Part 1

Acknowledged 9

Deferred 1

Rejected 1

Government response

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Ninth report from Session 2024-25 · published 6 May 2025

Read the government response ↗ Response on the Index

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item

7 Conclusion Rejected

HMRC's tax gap estimates remain uncertain and not broken down by industrial sector.

Conclusion

HMRC told us that the tax gap measure is its best estimate with the data available to it. It acknowledged that its estimates for behaviours, including evasion, are uncertain.10 HMRC explained that it revises its estimates in subsequent years, for … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government states it agrees with the committee but explicitly reiterates that it does not set specific targets for the tax gap by sector, directly contradicting the committee's observation regarding HMRC's long-standing position on this issue.

HM Treasury

View Details →