HMRC gains soar from wealthy tax evaders

The figures, obtained by the law firm McGrigors using the Freedom of Information Act, revealed enquiries by the High Net Worth unit of HMRC brought in an extra £373m in tax in 2008-09, up from £81m gathered in 2004/05. Phil Berwick of McGrigors says: "Many of the foreign nationals and wealthy UK individuals are investment bankers and hedge fund managers, who have sought to shelter some or all of their earnings from the UK taxman by using tax avoidance schemes." HMRC expects the total number of higher-rate taxpayers to shrink from 3.89 million in 2007-08 to 2.9 million in 2009-10, with...