A clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion is expected as part of the 2015 Budget, with George Osborne increasing efforts to force the wealthy to pay what they owe.
Stricter rules are also set to come into force to punish any advisers who offer to help their clients sidestep relevant taxes.
The coalition Government has already implemented numerous measures to combat tax evasion and avoidance, and more are set to passed following the release of the new Budget.
Some new measures have already been published by the Treasury in draft legislation form, including the new “diverted profits tax”, which has been unofficially dubbed the “Google tax”, and it is expected that an additional £7.6bn will be raised from such schemes in the financial year running to April 2016.
The Chancellor recently told MPs that the Treasury is looking to use new ways to obtain funds from tax evaders and their advisers.
At the Budget, Mr Osborne is likely to highlight the coalition’s recent tax revenue success and highlight plans to raise more from individual tax avoiders and evaders than the last Labour government did for the duration from 1997 to 2010.
Among other schemes, the new measures that are likely to be announced this week include: new penalties for those facilitating tax evasion, offshore account liability (meaning that those with undeclared offshore accounts can be prosecuted), additional costs for serial avoiders (including public release of serial tax avoiders’ names), an increase in flexibility for HMRC (including more freedom for the handling of tax returns and enquiries), and a new 25 per cent tax aimed at deterring multinationals from transferring their profits to offshore tax havens.