Last month, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury also made a number of announcements about action the Government is taking to tackle tax avoidance.

HMRC's Affluent Unit launched in October 2011 is being expanded to deal with taxpayers with a net worth of £1m instead of the current £2.5m. An extra 100 inspectors and specialists will be recruited to cover the tax affairs of 200,000 more individuals, an increase from around 300,000 under the current threshold, to the 500,000 wealthiest people in the country.

This Unit brings together 200 specialists from across HMRC using new and innovative risk assessment techniques to identify areas where wealthy individuals are avoiding or evading taxes and duties

In addition, the HMRC team working on the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) is being doubled in size and is now expected to bring in £3bn, over £2bn more than anticipated when the agreement was signed.

By way of reminder, the LDF is an agreement between the governments of Liechtenstein and the UK which enables UK residents to declare previously undisclosed liabilities to HMRC. It is part of HMRC's broader drive against offshore tax evasion and will run until 5 April 2016.

It was also announced that HMRC and the Cabinet Office have been tasked with looking into how the Government can use the procurement process for government contracts to deter the very small minority of companies and individuals that do so from evading tax and using aggressive tax avoidance schemes. More information is available from HM Treasury website.

Continuing on the theme of avoidance and evasion, people selling directly to customers and who haven't paid all the tax they owe have been offered the opportunity to come forward and pay up under a newly launched HMRC campaign with the benefit of significantly reduced penalties.

Under this particular time-limited opportunity, direct sellers, often called “agents”, “consultants”, “representatives” or “distributors”, can pay the tax they owe and benefit from lower penalties available to those who come forward, rather than wait for HMRC to knock on their door.

Direct selling involves selling directly to customers without the need for a shop. Selling can involve demonstrating a product in a customer's home, sometimes at a party, while some agents sell door to door, often using catalogues. Direct sellers take commission on the sales they make.

To take part in the campaign, direct sellers should tell HMRC about the tax due and make arrangements to pay any tax, interest and penalties owed by 28 February 2013 by completing the relevant disclosure form available online at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/campaigns/dsc-form.pdf

So far, HMRC advise that nearly £510 million has been raised by campaigns, and a further £120 million from follow-up activity. Campaigns launched to date have targeted offshore investments, medical professionals, plumbers, VAT defaulters, coaches and tutors, electricians and online traders.

Once this disclosure opportunity closes on 28 February 2013, taxpayers who have not come forward but are found to have unpaid tax liabilities will face higher penalties, rising to 100 per cent of the tax unpaid or, potentially, criminal investigation.