The number of tax evasion prosecutions has doubled from 302 in 2011/12 to 617 in 2012/13, according to data released by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to Pinsent Masons. The tax authority wins in about 90 per cent of cases, according to Pinsent Masons partner Jason Collins who also says that lawyers are one of the groups which regularly appear in the prosecution lists.

Lawyers on the list

Mr Collins told the Financial Times that to hit its targets and ' maximise the deterrent effect HMRC is now taking criminal cases against the kind of tax evaders it would have previously seen as small time….These aren’t necessarily individuals who owe hundreds of thousands of pounds but people like doctors, dentists, lawyers, construction contractors and restaurant owners who have not declared amounts in the tens of thousands.'