HMRC ramps up use of AI for tax evasion

HM Revenue & Customs' decision to utilise more artificial intelligence in its quest to gather evidence for tax evasion investigations has led to a decline in the number of raids at business premises across the UK. The number of raids fell overall by 30% within 12 months. HMRC officers raided 471 commercial properties in the 12 months to April 2018, compared with 669 in the previous year, according to figures obtained in a recent Freedom of Information request. In March, HMRC's Acting Digital Transformation Director, Brigid McBride, confirmed that the tax authority was keen to use AI to improve departmental efficiencies and ease the complexity of tax investigations. HMRC has set its department a goal of automating ten million processes by the end of 2018.