Oral Answers to Questions

Joe Powell Excerpts

Tuesday 1st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)]

14. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle tax evasion by high street businesses.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

16. What steps she plans to take to close loopholes in the tax system.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

The year before we came to power, the tax gap stood at £47 billion. That is unacceptable, which is why we announced the most ambitious-ever package of tax gap measures in the Budget, and went even further in the spring statement. We are now forecast to raise £7.5 billion from the tax gap in 2029-30, including by recruiting 5,500 more compliance officers, investing in better technology and closing loopholes. We will bring forward further measures to close the tax gap in the autumn Budget.

[Joe Powell]

As the Minister is no doubt aware, an increasingly common issue on our high streets is phoenixing. That is where a shop unit continues to trade while cycling through multiple limited companies every few months, none of which pays corporation tax, VAT or business rates. Can the Minister encourage officials at His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to walk along Whitehall, just a few hundred metres from this Chamber, and take a look at whether the series of Harry Potter-themed gift shops across London—which have been accused by “London Centric” of doing exactly that—are playing by the rules? Will they ensure that tax enforcement supports legitimate small businesses on our high streets?

[James Murray]

My hon. Friend is a powerful campaigner and advocate for tackling those who do not play by the rules. While I am unable to comment on individual taxpayer affairs because of my position, I very much recognise the issue. We are determined to tackle this problem, and HMRC is working across Government on enforcement action, including work with Companies House and the Insolvency Service to tackle phoenixism.