John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on HMRC figures showing that the 2017/18 tax gap was £35 billion, said:

“The tax gap is another reminder of the scale of tax evasion in this country under a Tory Government – and it is likely to be an underestimate since it does not capture much tax avoidance or profit-shifting.

“But the gap is also the product of the Government’s savage cuts to HMRC, which have deskilled and undermined a key part of the civil service.

“A Labour Government will be uncompromising in tackling tax avoidance and evasion, and will implement a comprehensive policy programme to achieve this aim.”

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Notes to Editors