Tax evaders won't be prosecuted... and will stay anonymous: HMRC refuses to name 500 Britons on 'Lagarde List'

• HMRC chief executive Lin Homer to be grilled by MPs over revelations just one person on list of Brits with Swiss bank accounts has been prosecuted
• Former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarge handed list of 6,000 accounts to the UK two years ago
• Labour's Margaret Hodge said the public thinks people are not treated equally by the tax authorities
• Tory MP claims US companies like Coca-Cola and Apple pay just three per cent tax in Britain
  

By Gerri Peev for the Daily Mail

Published: 11:19 BST, 2 November 2012 | Updated: 01:16 BST, 3 November 2012

HM Rvenue and Customs chief exeuctive Lin Homer will face questions on Monday about the strategy to not pursue criminal charges against tax avoiders

Hundreds of tax dodgers will escape prosecution and will be allowed to keep their identities hidden.

Tax officials have decided to offer them immunity in exchange for payment of a penalty and their tax bills.

The head of HM Revenue and Customs will be questioned on Monday by MPs about why at least 500 British tax dodgers investigated over the ‘Lagarde List’ will be protected from prosecution.

The wealthy individuals all have secret Swiss bank accounts with HSBC, details of which were disclosed by Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Lin Homer, HMRC’s chief executive, will be questioned by the Commons public accounts committee over ‘sweetheart’ deals which will give immunity to hundreds of tax evaders who have not paid tax on their offshore assets.

Some 6,000 British names linked to HSBC bank accounts in Geneva were handed to the tax authorities in 2010 by Mrs Lagarde, who was then France’s finance minister.

HMRC investigated 500 individuals for suspected fraud but only one has been convicted.

After the Greek government failed to take action against the 2,000 industrialists, financiers and politicians on their version of the list, investigative journalist Costas  Vaxevanis published their names last weekend.

To the fury of Press freedom campaigners, he was arrested and accused of breaching privacy laws before being acquitted on Thursday after a fast-track trial.

Over the last two and a half years, HMRC’s investigations have only led to one prosecution.

Property developer Michael Shanly – who is estimated to be worth £160million – was fined £400,000 after failing to pay inheritance tax on money left to him by his late mother in a Geneva account.

Two years ago Christine Lagarde, who was then French Finance Minister, handed over details of 6,000 people who had HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland

editor

Critics have accused tax officials of offering immunity deals to almost everyone on the HSBC list, whether they owe a few pounds or billions, but this was denied by HMRC.

Most of the bank account holders are to be offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for paying their outstanding tax bills plus a penalty. The deal means they will have their anonymity protected.

Only those who owe more than £25,000 will face the threat of being exposed but even then they can appeal against such a decision.

Margaret Hodge, the Labour chairman of the public accounts committee, said she wanted to hold HMRC to account ‘for whether they have been effective in collecting tax’.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, today said there was a growing sense that people not treated equally by the tax authorities

She added: ‘All these issues around sweetheart deals and their ability in closing down tax avoidance schemes are going to be the subject of endless questioning.

‘The mood of the country is really changing. Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, people feel it is just not fair that we are not treated equally by the tax authorities.’

Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke, an accountant, called for the culprits to be prosecuted. ‘We should name, shame and prosecute in order to stop people from evading their taxes,’ he said.

‘HMRC has let things go for the last decade and the state of the UK’s finances mean it is time for them to show a firmer hand.

‘It is unfair to the millions of hard-working taxpayers who contribute through PAYE that others sidestep their fair share. It sends the wrong message.’

British residents have to pay capital gains and inheritance tax on any assets that are held abroad.

The Inland Revenue has defended its actions, saying it has used ‘civil settlements’ for years.

A spokesman said: ‘HMRC’s handling of the HSBC data continues to be a major success. To date, over 500 individuals have either been the subject of an investigation for serious fraud or are under investigation. Some of these cases go back 20 years.

‘Additionally, we have successfully prosecuted one individual and further criminal investigations are in the pipeline.

'We expect to recover hundreds of millions of unpaid taxes and our message to anyone who has not come forward is that they should do so now. If they don’t, HMRC are clear that they will be relentlessly pursued.’