In a first, Britain releases names of tax cheats

Britain’s HM Revenue and Customs on Thursday published the names of what it described as “tax cheats” for the first time, part of efforts to address public anger over tax evasion at a time of economic austerity.

[caption id=“attachment_635807” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The tax authority stressed that the list of individuals and businesses it had published only related to “deliberate” non-payment, not avoidance. Reuters[/caption]

Tax has become a sensitive issue in Britain as the government cuts spending to tackle a big budget deficit, and as more becomes known about legal loopholes firms such as Starbucks and Amazon use to sharply cut their tax bill.

The tax authority stressed that the list of individuals and businesses it had published only related to “deliberate” non-payment, not avoidance, which is legal but whose practice by some multinationals has raised public ire.

Reuters