Wealthy Britons avoiding more tax than thought, spending watchdog says

Wealthy individuals in Britain could be avoiding more tax than thought, the government’s spending watchdog has said, after a dramatic fall in the number of penalties being issued to the super-rich. It said HMRC had greatly increased the additional tax revenue it was collecting from wealthy individuals by tackling non-compliance, but additional steps were required to ensure rich people paid their fair share. According to the NAO report, billions of pounds in additional revenue could be collected from wealthy individuals. after newsletter promotionAccording to the NAO report, the population of wealthy individuals that HMRC oversees has grown from 700,000 in 2019-20 to 850,000 in 2023-24. However, ministers provided additional funding for the tax office in the autumn budget, including provision to tackle wealthy offshore non-compliance and fraud.