Each defaulter named has either deliberately submitted inaccurate returns, deliberately failed to comply with an obligation, or deliberately committed a wrongdoing which would have cheated the Exchequer out of more than £25,000 if HMRC had not carried out an investigation.

Despite a host of disclosure opportunities, the deliberate defaulters have chosen not to take the opportunity to fully disclose the extent of their tax liability or cooperate with HMRC investigations.

The biggest offender named on the list was a Manchester-based food and wine retailer, trading as Saad Victoria Food & Wine Limited, with a mouth-watering £29m in unpaid taxes, facing a maximum penalty of up to £29m – the company went out of business in May 2014. HMRC told Accountancy Live that it had issued a 100% penalty as the tax authorities ‘had significant concerns’.

Defaulters named on the list include hairdressers with outstanding tax bills of £26,000 while a painting contractor from Glasgow, Inglis Facility Management Ltd, faces penalties of around £95,000 for failure to pay taxes on some £170,000 of untaxed income.

An electrical installation and repairs company, owned by a couple Kevin and Deborah Moran and trading as Moonshine Ltd and D K Express, were also singled out for an outstanding tax bill of £112,225 and faced a penalty of £78,557.

Defaulters have been pulled up for evasion across a range of taxes including VAT, income tax, corporation tax and PAYE.

HMRC’s Jennie Granger, director general for enforcement and compliance, said: ‘The majority of people declare the tax that is due, but there is a small minority who try to evade their responsibilities.

‘Publishing taxpayers’ names is not something we do lightly. We are publishing the names of tax cheats as it lets the community know we are tackling this and encourage others to get back on track.

‘Each person named has cheated the Exchequer out of more than £25,000, and that’s unfair to those who pay their tax. In the last year, penalties have ranged from £10,000 to over £29m.

‘We urge people to come forward, so we can help them get back on track. It is always easier if people make a full and prompt disclosure and co-operate with HMRC. If they do this, they will avoid being named,’ added Granger.

Deliberate defaulters can be named where, during an investigation into a period starting on or after 1 April 2010:

it is established that the taxpayer is liable to a penalty for a deliberate default; and

as a result of the deliberate default, more than £25,000 of additional tax would have been lost without HMRC’s intervention; and

the taxpayer has failed to make a full disclosure to HMRC at the outset, so failing to receive the maximum possible reduction in penalties for full and early disclosure and assistance.

Details of deliberate defaulters can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/defaulters