HMRC’s latest public awareness campaign, ‘Don’t Get Caught Out’, is being criticised by tax experts for blurring the lines between legal tax planning and illegal activity — a move that could confuse taxpayers and undermine the clarity of the UK tax system.
According to leading audit, tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, the campaign repeatedly refers to “tax avoidance schemes” when describing behaviours that are more accurately labelled tax evasion or fraud.
Robert Salter, Director at Blick Rothenberg, said: “It’s good that HMRC is warning taxpayers about scams. But by calling these arrangements ‘tax avoidance schemes’, they are misusing terminology and potentially misleading the public. What they’re describing are clear cases of tax evasion or fraud — not avoidance.”
Salter stressed that tax avoidance is legal and often routine, involving tools like pension contributions, ISAs, or salary sacrifice schemes. By contrast, tax evasion involves deliberate concealment of income, assets or false reporting to avoid paying taxes — and is a criminal offence.
He added that conflating the terms could leave taxpayers unsure of what legitimate tax planning options are available to them, and inadvertently make it easier for scammers to exploit that confusion.
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