Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many unresolved tax enquiries there were in the Large Business Service (LBS) in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 to date; and how many unresolved tax enquiries in the LBS are (i) one year old and (ii) more than three years old.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC’s) Large Business Service dealt with the tax affairs of the 800 or so largest businesses in the UK up to 31 March 2014. HMRC’s approach has enabled it to recover around £31 bn in additional compliance revenues from large businesses, including those dealt with by Large Business Service, between April 2010 and March 2014.

The number of tax risks under enquiry in the Large Business Service at the relevant dates were:

31 March 2009 -2,477

31March 2010 -3,230

31 March 2011 -2,721

31 March 2012 -2,375

31 March 2013 -2,314

31 March 2014 -2,367

HMRC deals with large business risks quickly, despite their complexity. In most cases it reaches a decision within 18 months.

From 1 April 2014, HMRC’s new Large Business directorate deals with the tax affairs of the 2,100 largest business in the UK.