From April 2022, the renewal of licences to drive taxis and private hire vehicles as well as to deal in scrap metal will only be given if the person applying can show they have completed a tax check with HMRC.

This change to standard licence applications is known as tax conditionality and only compliance with tax rules will allow a licence to be issued. The idea was first consulted on in 2016 and 2017 when the government prioritised reducing the growing tax gap.