HMRC income from tax crackdown on 'mass affluent' up 60%

HMRC's crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion by the "mass affluent" saw an income boost of 60% in the last year, a new report has claimed.

HMRC's Affluent Unit, which covers UK residents on annual incomes over £150,000 - or wealth over £1m - raised £137.2m in tax last year, 60% more than the £85.7m it raised in 2013. The findings were published in a new report by law firm Pinsent Masons, which used HMRC's data. The unit, set up in 2011, doubled in size in 2013 after recruiting 100 tax inspectors, and covers about 500,000 UK residents, the BBC said. Pinsent Mason head of litigation and compliance James Bullock said the tax office is becoming more aggressive in its prosecutions of professionals and entrepreneurs. He ...