Author archive page for Mike Lewis.| TaxWatch
As the US President prepares to fly into the UK with tech bosses in tow, a new briefing from TaxWatch shows that both the US government and tech industry representatives have made strongly inaccurate claims about the UK's Digital Services Tax.| TaxWatch – TaxWatch
Successive governments have rejected calls for a tax advice regulator and minimum professional standards, which exist in many other countries from Australia to Germany. It’s high time that UK taxpayers got similar protections.| TaxWatch – TaxWatch
With limited resources, how should the UK prioritise different types and targets of tax enforcement?| TaxWatch
The extremely high level of tax relief available to the UK’s oil and gas companies compared to all other businesses has the potential to distort private sector investment, TaxWatch believes.| TaxWatch
There are fundamental issues around the subject of compliance for HMRC, which needs, among other things, a proper workforce plan with trained and motivated staff able to deal with all aspects of compliance.| TaxWatch
Conservative Party proposes to re-introduce age related income taxation for pensioners| TaxWatch
TaxWatch is an investigative think tank shining a light on the world of tax and tax avoidance.| TaxWatch
UK ministers have praised five of the UK’s Overseas Territories for searchable registers revealing who really owns companies there. TaxWatch set out to see how these registers are working on the ground. One of the five registers, which ministers told Parliament was “fully public” and had been...| TaxWatch
Stronger powers against ‘enablers’ - those who design and enable aggressive tax avoidance and evasion – are back on the table once again. But new figures show that existing powers are still not being used.| TaxWatch
Even after years of attempts at reform, offshore havens still offer secrecy for those determined to hide money and evade tax. In a week when Britain's Overseas Territories have ignored yet another deadline for functioning 'beneficial ownership' registers, new figures on UK tax enforcement...| TaxWatch
Quietly buried in HMRC spreadsheets released today is the news that the UK Tax Gap is consistently much bigger than HMRC previously said. New evidence suggests that the government may be under-estimating by several billion pounds the amount of income hidden offshore, and non-compliance amongst the largest and wealthiest taxpayers.| TaxWatch – TaxWatch
Shrinking the £40 billion tax gap and £38 billion of outstanding tax debts is going to be critical for making today’s Spending Review numbers add up. Can HMRC deliver this with a real-term budget cut?| TaxWatch – TaxWatch
From the White House to the tech sector, the UK's Digital Services Tax has been described as a discriminatory 'tariff' almost entirely targeting large US internet companies. New statistics show that's not quite true.| TaxWatch – TaxWatch
Why aren't enablers of tax abuse being penalised? HMRC's powers to sanction delinquent tax advisers have roadblocks built in, and there are still gaps in naming and shaming.| TaxWatch
The government wants to step up the fight against enablers of tax abuse (again). New powers and better information can help. But HMRC is barely using the powers and penalties it already has.| TaxWatch
The 2024 edition of TaxWatch's annual report on the UK Government's administration and enforcement of the tax system.| TaxWatch
A comprehensive report on the UK tax advice market has revealed alarming gaps in regulation that leave both taxpayers and public finances vulnerable to significant harm. TaxWatch explores the options for widespread reform| TaxWatch
HMRC's first offshore tax gap report looks to understate losses at £300m| TaxWatch
TaxWatch analysis of HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.| TaxWatch
Analysis of HMRC R&D relief statistics.| TaxWatch
Sweet Deception: £4.4bn tax evasion leaves a sour taste for HMRC Tax evasion growing amongst small businesses, but HMRC lacks an effective strategic response.| TaxWatch
Tax proposals across the UK political parties (General Election 2024)| TaxWatch
Liberal Democrats propose to increase digital services tax on multinationals| TaxWatch
HMRC’s increasingly poor telephone service is impacting its ability to collect the right amount of tax and damaging the wider economy.| TaxWatch