Cracking down on tax avoidance won’t fix the budget deficit

Clamping down on tax avoidance is popular with the voters. But far from fixing Britain's problems, it may make things even worse, says Matthew Lynn.

Ever since Roman times, tax collection has been an unpopular and intrusive business. There have to be checks to make sure people pay what they are meant to and don't cheat the system. Even so, in this country, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is being encouraged to become nosier with every week that passes.

Posters with staring eyes are appearing everywhere. Companies are being harassed. Now we learn that the tax inspectors will be teaming up with credit reference agencies to detect fraud. Almost every day brings news of some fresh clampdown on tax avoidance.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.