Almost a third of the UK 'tax gap' - the difference between what is owed to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and what is collected - is due to tax avoidance or evasion, according to the latest estimates.
Figures for 2010/11 have put the tax gap at £32bn, £1bn higher than that recorded in 2009/10 and 6.7% of total liabilities, HMRC said.
A total of £9bn of this gap relates to tax avoidance and evasion.
HMRC said tax is not collected for a number of reasons, including evasion and avoidance, as well as customer error, the hidden economy and criminal attacks.
HMRC says tax avoidance “is not the same as legitimate tax planning”.
