Treasury missed out on £31.6billion in tax because of burgeoning black market for booze, fags and diesel
‘Tax gap’ over the past five years was enough to fund a 1.5p cut in the basic rate of income tax, says The Taxpayers Alliance
THE TREASURY has missed out on £31.6billion in tax because of the burgeoning black market for booze, fags and diesel, a new report claims.
The Taxpayers Alliance said the ‘tax gap’ over the past five years was enough to fund a 1.5p cut in the basic rate of income tax.
The watchdog said that the illicit trade in all three products was booming because of the sky-high Government tax rate on the everyday products.
Petrol duty in the UK is among the highest in Europe while the tax on a bottle of Scotch whisky is as high as 80 per cent.
The £31.6 billion of ‘missed’ tax includes £13.9 billion lost on illicit trade in cigarettes – which makes up around 12 per cent of the total UK market.
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Taxpayers Alliance chief John O’Connell said the figures proved the Government would be better off lowering tax rates paid by Brits abiding by the law.
He said: “Our ludicrously complicated, punitive tax system not only hits hard-pressed families with crippling bills.
“But it also affects frontline services by depriving the Treasury of revenue lost to the black market, all the while lining the pockets of those peddling dodgy tobacco, alcohol and diesel.”