Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the (a) cost and (b) number of HMRC staff undertaking inquiries into online marketplace sellers.

The department is unable to provide an exact breakdown in the cost or number of staff involved in this work. This is because HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance, and so tax enquiries into online marketplace sellers can fall into a number of different compliance areas. Staff involved will work across a variety of business types and in most cases will not be solely working on this one trade sector.