MAGIC NUMBERS
“HIS Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Fair Work Agency will crack down on the illicit businesses that blight our high streets and undercut legitimate firms,” Rachel Reeves promised in her budget, “enforcing the minimum wage, investigating dodgy businesses and increasing scrutiny of the gig economy.”
Unveiling a crackdown on businesses like the dubious souvenir shops first examined by the Eye a few years ago, the chancellor said that, together with measures against unpaid tax bills, “these reforms will raise nearly £10bn a year by 2030, including through new powers for HMRC to pursue the promoters of tax avoidance schemes”.