News brief - 16/10/20 View this email in your browser
Take employer fraud and tax avoidance seriously, govt told
A cross-party group of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called on the government to take fraudulent behaviour and tax avoidance on behalf of employers more seriously, especially as people across the country face losses in income.
The PAC said the drafting of the government's Covid-19 job support schemes left an "unacceptable" amount of room for employers to commit fraud, and that the current means of calculating the "tax gap" between expected payments and those received is untrustworthy.
It pointed out that HMRC's estimate of the tax gap - currently £31 billion - has such a wide margin of error it should not be taken on face value. The agency should be doing more to claw money back from the businesses that owe it and should be clearer about the limitations of its data, the PAC said.
Meanwhile, the Committee described the government's lack of pandemic economic preparedness as "astonishing" and called on ministers to publish the names of all employers that made furlough claims.
It is believed that around £3.5 billion has been paid either in error or as a result of fraud during the lockdown.
The PAC argued holding the wealthy to account is especially important at a time when people across the UK are being forced to tighten their purse strings.
Indeed, this point was underlined by the stark disparity in fortunes between business and workers this week, as the government said it cannot afford to adequately support workers in Tier 3 lockdowns even as Serco posted a surge in profits on the back of Westminster's payment of up to £410 million to provide the failed test and trace service.
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MPs call for transparency on employer fraud and tax avoidance
The Public Accounts Committee has called on the government and HMRC to take fraudulent behaviour among the wealthy far more seriously.
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BOOK NOW: Employment Law Update 2020
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24th November 2020 - 7pm-8pm
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Employment Law Update 2020: Part 2
26th November 2020 - 7pm-8pm
Leading lawyers, academics and campaigners update delegates as to the most significant cases going through the tribunal system and their wider impact on the protection of workers.
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IER and Covid-19
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER have decided to postpone all forthcoming IER events and meetings until further notice, including both Health and safety at work after Brexit conferences in Liverpool and London, the IER Executive Committee, IER AGM and our joint event with the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom on 6th June.
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