Concerns over HMRC’s ‘don’t get caught out’ campaign

HMRC’s ‘don’t get caught out’ campaign is not using the correct terminology when educating taxpayers about scams and tax evasion and risks conflating illegal immoral acts with legal and legitimate behaviour according to Blick Rothenberg. In their online advice HMRC consistently refer to ‘tax avoidance schemes’ but the arrangements they are describing are not tax avoidance but clear examples of tax evasion or tax fraud. 

Robert Salter a Director at the firm said: ‘It is good that HMRC is warning taxpayers about the risks that arise with these tax scams but by referring to tax evasion or tax fraud as tax avoidance HMRC risk confusing taxpayers as to what they can legitimately do and what is simply illegal and immoral.’

‘This confusion could mean taxpayers are out of pocket when they could be reducing their tax bill through perfectly legitimate means. Tax scammers...