“Huge Data” helps HMRC to increase taxes in the United Kingdom by 4.6 billion pounds

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The pioneering “huge data” system brought an additional 4.6 billion pounds of tax in 2024-25 by drawing on multiple sources including banking records.

Hmrc In response to the information freedom request, the average annual annual return achieved by the Connect database over a number of years was 3.4 billion pounds, which means that there is a 35 percent increase in the additional tax collected in the last year.

Ian Robotam, the legal director of the law firm Bennsant Masson, who submitted the information freedom, said that 4.6 billion pounds was a “reasonable importance” part of the so -called tax A gap, the amount of tax due but not collected by HMRC. This was estimated by HMRC at 46.8 billion pounds in 2023-24, or 5.3 percent of total theoretical tax obligations.

“The fact that HMRC uses large data and the fact that it recovers, on their own numbers, an additional large amount by using (the connection) shows that it works.”

Aaron Adfani, professor of economics at Warwick University, said that “Kun” was a really good example of how much you can improve its application when you have access to good data and when this data is connected to the population level.

“It is not just a search tool, but a powerful tool for data, analytical and risk technology” using multiple data sources.

HMRC added that Connect, which was presented in 2010, “builds networks of these data, allowing us to see styles and links … that will be impossible for the human eye.”

“The only decisive factor is not at the beginning or determining the direction of the tax investigation. Other factors are considered and the human insight always issues the final ruling.”

Robotam said that the delivery of data is from … banks, financial institutions, and online markets, so we have seen a proposal that is included … things like property databases. “

HMRC refused to define the sources it uses specifically to contact, saying that “this information will be of great importance to potential mistakes – including, but not limited to, serious, organized criminals.”

However, tax authority still has blind data. HMRC was criticized this year by a parliamentary committee Not knowing the amount of tax billionaires paid.

“HM Revenes & Customs does not have an overview of the total individual wealth and faces challenges in obtaining all the data he needs to evaluate risk and target wealthy,” according to a report issued by the General Accounts Committee of the House of Commons.

Lloyd Hatton, the worker and member of the committee, said that HMRC estimates to the “wealthy tax gap” and “external tax gap”, which represents the difference between the money due and the collected money, was “very inaccurate” with billions of pounds.

This article has been modified to clarify the sources of information used in the communication database