“Owners of dodgy shops that are evading tax: we are coming for you,” said Dan Tomlinson, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, as he announced that HMRC will make 30,000 high-street ‘interventions’ in the coming year as part of an initiative to tackle tax fraud and illegal activity.
Effectively, it is an aggressive campaign against vape shops, barbers, sweet shops and convenience stores from being used as fronts for criminal activity.
“Too many high streets have been blighted by illegal activity that harms local communities and undercuts honest businesses, and we’re determined to fix this. This is a sustained, nationwide effort, and HMRC and its partners will use every power available to dismantle these criminal networks,” added Mr. Tomlinson.
The new 350-strong team of criminal investigators to tackle evasion by small businesses, announced during the Autumn Budget 2025, has now been recruited.
To illustrate the work this team is carrying out, unannounced visits were made to six souvenir shops in central London last week involving representatives from HMRC, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Westminster Council Trading Standards and the Metropolitan Police.
As a result, HMRC will continue tax compliance enquiries, the Home Office made three arrests for immigration-related offences and Trading Standards seized goods worth £5,433.
Businesses and activities that are being targeted include: - Cash-intensive businesses that may be associated with illegal activity. - Businesses engaged in money laundering and in breach of National Minimum Wage rules. - Businesses selling illicit goods such as vapes and tobacco. - Rogue directors who repeatedly shut businesses and reopen elsewhere (phenoxism). - Providers and users of electronic tools that manipulate sales records to launder money or suppress sales at the till.
The government is consulting on potential measures that target Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS). Proposals include the introduction of new software standards for Point of Sale systems. Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS) involves businesses using software or devices to manipulate Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems to hide transactions and evade tax.
The June 'UK Report on Jobs' shows subdued business confidence driving a preference for short-term staff. Temporary staff billings rose at the steepest rate in over three years, while permanent staff appointments continued to decline, although at a much slower pace than in May.
