By Lyndsey Hall
A new documentary focusing on HMRC’s work to eradicate tax evasion and avoidance will air soon on Channel 4.
The show, which includes exclusive footage of the Revenue’s compliance work across the UK, will finally be shown after five years of filming and production. HMRC allowed the film crew unprecedented access to its work in combatting tax evasion and avoidance, and to follow staff going about their daily work tackling individuals and businesses who don’t pay the tax they owe. The documentary will even include real life stories about people who are pursued by HMRC for tax avoidance and evasion.
In 2016, HMRC generated a record £28.9 billion in compliance yield as a result of its anti-tax avoidance and evasion campaign. That’s the equivalent of around a quarter of the UK’s annual NHS budget.
The documentary follows a programme shown on the BBC in January about a small town in South Wales that set up a tax avoidance scheme to emulate those allegedly used by many multinational corporations. The idea was to challenge HMRC by creating an offshore scheme that would highlight the flawed tax system.
According to a BBC spokesperson, the show averaged 1.6 million viewers and was the second most watched programme on BBC TWO on the day it aired. That’s a big act for this new documentary to follow.
Will you be watching the documentary on HMRC when it airs? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
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