HMRC's taskforces crackdown on lawyers, grocers and beauty salons

HMRC has launched a range of new taskforces to tackle specific sectors which may not be paying the right amount of tax, including the legal profession, grocers and beauty salons.

It hopes to recover more than £19.5 million from specifically targeted sectors and areas of the country, such as:

• The legal profession in London
• Grocers and retailers in South and North Wales, the North West and the South West
• Hair and beauty salons in the North East
• Restaurants in the South East and Solent
• The motor trade in Scotland.

The specialist teams, of which 30 have been launched since May 2011, will visit what it deems to be 'high risk trade sectors and locations in the UK', carrying out record checks and investigations.

David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said: "We have made it clear that we will not tolerate tax evasion and we are determined to crack down on the minority who choose to break the rules. Everyone needs to pay the taxes they owe in full. It is not fair that at a time when most hard-working people are paying the right tax, others are trying to get out of paying what they should."