Carousel fraud bill to reach £5bn
Grant Thornton estimates massive cost of VAT fraud
VAT ‘carousel’
fraud will cost the cost the government at least £5bn this year, according
to a study by mid-tier firm Grant
Thornton.
The firm made what it called a ‘conservative’ estimate based on official data
showing sharp falls in the fraudulent activity in the past couple of months.
Grant Thornton said the estimate of £5bn was likely to be reached even if the
final quarter of this year sees a substantial decrease in the scale of fraud.
‘The economic impact of [carousel] fraud continues to have a significant
negative impact on the UK economy,’ said
Stephen
Gifford, the firm’s chief economist.
‘Even on a conservative estimate we forecast losses to HM Treasury will
amount to £5bn in 2006. That represents around one penny on the basic rate of
income tax,’ he added.
Further reading:
French scupper UK’s anti-carousel fraud efforts
Britain’s carousel fraud battle suffers European blow
Carousel fraudsters sent down for 34 years
