Written question asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour) on Tuesday, 25 November 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 December 2014. It was answered by Lord Deighton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 December 2014 on behalf of the Treasury.

Taxation

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will clarify what constitutes tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Answer

Tax evasion is illegal activity, where registered individuals or businesses deliberately omit, conceal or misrepresent information so they can reduce their tax liabilities.

Tax avoidance is exploiting the tax rules to gain a tax advantage that Parliament never intended. It often involves contrived, artificial transactions that serve little or no commercial purpose other than to produce a tax advantage. It involves operating within the letter, but not the spirit of the law.

For further information on this I refer the Noble Lord to Table 1.6 in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2014’ publication available on gov.uk.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL3168
Session: 2014-15
Related items: Tax Avoidance
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Tax avoidance Tax evasion
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Taxation

Secondary information

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