There have been protests against large corporations' tax affairs
The number of cases of serious tax evasion are at their lowest level in the five years, despite widespread belief it is on the rise, according to a report by law firm Pinsent Masons.
HM Revenue and Customs defines tax evasion as "serious" when the sum involved is higher than £50,000 or it is worthy of prosecution.
HMRC found evasion cases fell 16% between the two most recent tax years.
The report comes as governments have vowed to cut corporate tax avoidance.
HMRC's local offices reported 2,888 suspected cases of tax evasion, down from 3,456 in the previous 12 months, it said.
Pinsent Masons said that HMRC has stepped up its anti-evasion efforts considerably in recent years, including having new powers, such as being able to impose penalties of up to 200% of the original tax owed if an individual does not declare any income or capital gains that has been hidden from HMRC in an offshore bank account.
'Tools'"This decline in suspected tax evasion doesn't tally with the rhetoric from some quarters that the British economy is being undermined by a chronic under-collection of tax revenues," said Phil Berwick, a partner at the law firm.
"HMRC has plenty of tools at its disposal to catch tax evaders which serves as a huge deterrent to those considering tax evasion."
Last week, the G8 major economies agreed new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders.
And on Sunday, US coffee giant Starbucks said it has paid £5m in UK corporation tax - its first such tax payment since 2009. It announced late last year it would pay more corporation tax after a public outcry and an investigation by MPs.
Starbucks has only reported taxable profit once in 15 years in the UK.
"International co-operation has been stepped up significantly as HMRC has striven to curb tax evasion," Mr Berwick added.
"Tax evaders are now realising that HMRC has a much greater ability to tackle evasion, even if individuals conceal their assets abroad."
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23020508#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
