On 22 November 2012 it was reported that the UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced specialist task-forces to tackle tax avoidance in the UK clothing trade, alcohol industry and rental property sector, expected to recover around GBP17m in tax revenue.
HMRC has been using task-forces as part of its anti-avoidance crackdown since May, 2011, and has launched 30 task-forces so far. The task-forces bring together various HMRC compliance and enforcement teams for intensive bursts of activity targeted at specific sectors and locations where there is evidence of a high risk of tax evasion.
These latest task-forces will concentrate on the following: the clothing trade in the Midlands, North Wales and North West, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail and textile recycling; the alcohol industry in Scotland, including Aberdeen and Inverness; and the rental property sector in the South East. According to Exchequer Secretary, HMRC is on target to collect more than GBP50m as a result of task-forces launched in 2011-12.
