The amount of tax HMRC suspects may have been underpaid by big businesses has increased to £24.8bn, a 13% hike on the previous year following a widening of the scope of investigations, according to analysis by law firm Pinsent Masons
Pinsent Masons says that the amount of tax that HMRC’s large business directorate believes is underpaid also represents a 31% jump on the 2014/15 figure of £18.99bn.
Heather Self, partner at Pinsent Masons, said: ‘Another £3bn rise in the tax HMRC is querying shows that HMRC is broadening its horizons and putting a far wider range of transactions under scrutiny.
‘We are seeing an increasing number of challenges to arrangements that would previously have been regarded as routine and perfectly acceptable.’
The HMRC figures relate to ‘tax under consideration’, which is an estimate of the maximum potential additional tax liability across all enquiries, before full investigations have been completed.
Typically, after investigation of individual cases, the amount actually due tends to be around half the initial estimate.
Self said the current focus on large businesses may be the result of public pressure to see the biggest companies paying their share of tax, and the drive for increased revenues.
‘However, HMRC is putting the affairs of more and more companies under the microscope as a result, increasing the costs for those businesses.
‘At the same time many of the largest businesses are struggling with HMRC's customer relationship manager system and finding it more difficult to get uncertainties resolved in real time,’ she said.
