A new study has revealed that HMRC is missing out on 2.7 billion dollars in underpaid VAT.
According to Thomson Reuters, 208 of the UK's 2,000 largest businesses have underpaid VAT by an average of 13.4 m each.
The study said that the 13.4 m figure relates to tax under consideration, which is an estimate of the amount of VAT HMRC believes has gone unpaid prior to full tax investigations being completed.
The study warned businesses that HMRC should increase the number of tax investigations after the authority received an additional 292 m to tackle underpayment of tax in last year s autumn budget. The government has beefed up HMRC's tax compliance capabilities and will be expecting results. HMRC views large corporates as underpaying VAT and are likely to be a high priority for investigation, said Jas Sandhu Dade, head of corporates Europe at Thomson Reuters.