Tax dodging is easy money
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LYNDA CHALKER, Minister for Transport, announced on the same day that almost a quarter of vehicle tax evasions reported by the police last year were not prosecuted, but the last year's campaign against tax dodgers in Hillingdon had been so successful that it was to be repeated. One woman's success is obviously another woman's failure.
A mere 253,000 of the 1,185,000 tax offenders observed were prosecuted or penalised and those who were brought to court received an average fine of only £33.60. This derisory penalty caused the House of Commons Committee on Public Accounts to call for more rigorous enforcement and stiffer fines.
Tax evasion by private motorists is galling enough to law-abiding citizens, but when it is practised by fly-by-night hauliers for competitive advantage it calls for particularly heavy penalties.