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1718797

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many incidents of tax fraud involving (a) the VAT484 form and (b) other paper forms HMRC has recorded in each of last five financial years; and what the (i) total and (ii) average value of those incidents is.
tabling member constituency	Ealing North
tabling member printed	James Murray
uin	26780
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>HMRC regularly encounters attempts to fraudulently attack its systems and does not routinely keep records of the value of individual instances unless a pattern emerges.</p><p> </p><p>Towards the end of February, HMRC identified a small number of cases which constituted more than isolated incidents. In these cases, paper VAT 484 forms had been wrongly used in an attempt to fraudulently gain access to VAT repayments. Immediate steps have been taken to prevent this from happening, and the situation is being monitored to see if further action is necessary.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston grouped question UIN 26781 question first answered 21/05/2024 13:39:24 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4797 label Biography information for James Murray

1461781

registered interest
date	11/05/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure efficient and clear communication between HMRC and Child Maintenance Service regarding tax fraud claims and investigations.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	924
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>HMRC use a wide range of data to tackle non-compliance, including tax fraud. As part of this HMRC and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) share data to enable tax investigations, and where intelligence relates to Child Maintenance, HMRC review this for evidence of fraud. Where either HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) receive an allegation of wrongdoing and it is pertinent to the other Department, this information will be securely disseminated to the Department for their ongoing action. This is a long-established process conducted under the relevant legal gateway.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC regularly shares data with DWP as the parent organisation for the CMS to support in administering the Child Maintenance System in Great Britain under the Welfare Reform Act.</p><p> </p><p>The information shared for use by the CMS is set out in law under the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 and HMRC shares information relating to certain types of income specified in either the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 or the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Welfare Reform Act enables HMRC to share information at the request of DWP for certain purposes. These specific requests are to assist DWP in their activities to tackle fraud and undertake investigations. All requests of this type are dealt with via a long-standing Memorandum of Understanding that is regularly reviewed for legality, proportionality, and to ensure it is fit for purpose.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/05/2022 14:50:17 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1402779

registered interest
date	13/01/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the loss to the Exchequer of tax revenue through tax scams.
tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
tabling member printed	Cat Smith
uin	103572
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2022 answer text <p>The information requested is not available as HMRC does not make an estimate of the amount of revenue lost through tax scams.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC estimates the tax gap which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. For the tax year 2019-20, the tax gap arising from criminal attacks on the tax system was £5.2 billion.</p><p> </p><p>Tax gap statistics are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps</a></p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 21/01/2022 12:54:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1402781

registered interest
date	13/01/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to fraudsters who have been identified by HMRC, did those persons fraudulently register as authorised tax agents or advisers.
tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
tabling member printed	Cat Smith
uin	103574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2022 answer text <p>HMRC has a duty to protect the tax system from potential fraudulent repayment claims being made which undermine both public confidence in the system and reduces the amount of money available to fund our vital public services.</p><p> </p><p>Over 90 per cent of HMRC’s Income Tax Self-Assessment repayment requests come from a genuine person and are paid without suspension or intervention. However, their systems are continually under attack from fraudsters.</p><p> </p><p>Over the last 8 years, HMRC have successfully countered fraudulent repayments through rigorous risk assessment and other upstream initiatives. However, the volume of attempts to defraud them has also increased and they must continually adapt their response.</p><p> </p><p>A release of the information requested in these questions, including the numbers of cases worked and the outcome of those cases, could undermine the compliance activity which HMRC are undertaking. This could in turn prejudice any investigations into suspected repayment fraud.</p><p> </p><p>Where a fraudster has been identified, HMRC will not give them agent codes and will suspend any codes that may already be active in order to maintain the integrity of the tax system, safeguard customer data, and protect revenues.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 103573 103575 104353 question first answered 21/01/2022 13:01:26 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1402782

registered interest
date	13/01/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, where fraudsters have been identified by HMRC, if they have been issued an agent code.
tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
tabling member printed	Cat Smith
uin	103575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2022 answer text <p>HMRC has a duty to protect the tax system from potential fraudulent repayment claims being made which undermine both public confidence in the system and reduces the amount of money available to fund our vital public services.</p><p> </p><p>Over 90 per cent of HMRC’s Income Tax Self-Assessment repayment requests come from a genuine person and are paid without suspension or intervention. However, their systems are continually under attack from fraudsters.</p><p> </p><p>Over the last 8 years, HMRC have successfully countered fraudulent repayments through rigorous risk assessment and other upstream initiatives. However, the volume of attempts to defraud them has also increased and they must continually adapt their response.</p><p> </p><p>A release of the information requested in these questions, including the numbers of cases worked and the outcome of those cases, could undermine the compliance activity which HMRC are undertaking. This could in turn prejudice any investigations into suspected repayment fraud.</p><p> </p><p>Where a fraudster has been identified, HMRC will not give them agent codes and will suspend any codes that may already be active in order to maintain the integrity of the tax system, safeguard customer data, and protect revenues.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 103573 103574 104353 question first answered 21/01/2022 13:01:26 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1316761

registered interest
date	20/05/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2021 to Question 77 on Stamp Duty Land Tax: Fraud, whether the Minister was referring to landfill tax fraud, not land tax fraud, in his answer.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	4544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/05/2021 answer text <p>The response provided related to landfill tax fraud.</p><p> </p><p>Two Honourable Members have met with HMRC on their investigation into the suspected systematic abuse of the landfill tax system, referred to as Operation Nosedive.</p><p> </p><p>Landfill Tax is a devolved tax. 125 companies pay Landfill Tax to HMRC in relation to landfill sites in England. 16 companies pay Landfill Disposal Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority, along with 1 City Council. 28 companies pay the Scottish Landfill Tax (SLT) to Revenue Scotland, along with 7 Unitary Authorities and 1 Public Body.</p><p> </p><p>As at 20 May 2021 there are approximately 48 HMRC investigators working on landfill tax compliance. Of this number approximately 10 HMRC investigators are looking into the issue of landfill tax fraud.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have a statutory duty of confidentiality to protect information held about taxpayers, so that such information is not passed to unauthorised parties. HMRC’s ability to disclose information held about taxpayers is restricted by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA). Section 18 of CRCA makes clear that HMRC must not disclose information to anyone, unless they have lawful authority to do so.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 4545 4546 4547 4548 question first answered 25/05/2021 16:06:30 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Lord Beamish

1312385

registered interest
date	27/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations his Department has conducted into tax fraud in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	188070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>HMRC’s statutory duty of taxpayer confidentiality prevents it from commenting on the specifics of any case. HMRC do not break costs down by individual investigations. They are funded by Government to investigate serious tax fraud and deploy resources to achieve value for money overall.<strong> </strong>HMRC closely collaborates with the Environment Agency, relevant local authorities and the Crown Prosecution Service during the course of investigations into landfill tax fraud. To date there has been no prosecution into landfill tax fraud, but over the last five years, HMRC’s civil compliance activity has prevented more than £1billion in incorrect landfill tax repayment claims and it has stepped in to protect £125m of tax that would otherwise have gone unpaid. Since it was set up in 2016, HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service has secured and protected more than £25bn for our vital public services and has launched over 76,000 civil cases and more than 4,000 criminal investigations, securing 3,700 criminal convictions.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch grouped question UIN 188058 188059 188060 188061 188062 188063 188064 188065 188066 question first answered 29/04/2021 10:16:36 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Lord Beamish

1227270

registered interest
date	22/07/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 48486 on 2 June 2010, how many submissions of the iForm had been received by (a) 30 June 2020, (b) 30 June in each of the last three tax years; and if he will estimate the number of submissions expected during the 2020-21 tax year.
tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
uin	78718
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The total number of iForm submissions made to the tax fraud hotline on GOV.UK in the first quarter of each tax year (April to June) for the last three tax years, was:</p><p> </p><p>2019/20: 15,951</p><p>2018/19: 14,265</p><p>2017/18: 12,856</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>23,272 submissions were made between 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs do not routinely produce estimates of the volume of expected allegations submitted through this reporting pathway.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 07/09/2020 16:11:25 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

1056698

registered interest
date	07/02/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the level of fraud in (a) VAT, (b) customs duty and (c) excise duties at the United Kingdom border in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Camberwell and Peckham
tabling member printed	Ms Harriet Harman
uin	218145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p><strong></strong>The information requested is not held. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the tax gap, which will encompass fraud, for VAT, excise duties and customs duty – the latter is contained within the Department’s estimates of ‘other taxes’. However, it is not possible to subdivide these tax gap estimates into fraud that occurs at the United Kingdom border and fraud that occurs elsewhere. Tax gap estimates for VAT, excise duties and other taxes for tax years 2005-06 to 2016-17 are available in chapters 2, 3 and 6, respectively, of HMRC’s publication Measuring Tax Gaps 2018. This report is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps</a>.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 12/02/2019 13:22:58 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	150 label Biography information for Baroness Harman

894779

registered interest
date	30/04/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time is that the fraud investigation department of HMRC takes to (a) carry out investigations and (b) receive confirmation from the Crown Prosecution Service of a decision to prosecute; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bridgend
tabling member printed	Mrs Madeleine Moon
uin	139417
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2018 answer text <p>The duration of a case is calculated as the time from the start of the case to the close, which includes the trial outcome and where relevant the issuing of a confiscation order. Criminal cases can vary significantly in their size and complexity with some cases concluding within a few months, whilst others can take years. Last year, one of our longest running cases concluded after over ten years.</p><p>For cases that closed in 2018, the mean duration of a criminal case is 15 months and the median is 10 months.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 03/05/2018 14:07:50 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	1490 label Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon