Tax hotline abused
12/06/2008
A tax hotline set up to help people inform on income tax cheats has been flooded with nasty calls and unfounded allegations, HM Revenue and Customs have disclosed.
Dave Hartnett, acting chairman of HM Revenue and Customs, said he was "disappointed by the quality" of calls.
But he said figures for the current year had shown an improvement.
Mr Hartnett told the committee there were up to two million people in the "hidden economy" in the UK, about 80% of whom were "small time" tax evaders in low paid jobs such as hairdressing, gardening or cleaning.
But there were also examples of higher earning offenders, including medical consultants and 57 barristers who were "in the hidden economy at some time not paying any tax".
