The exchequer secretary to the treasury, James Cartlidge MP, defended the government’s enforcement of landfill tax fraud during a debate in parliament yesterday (13 January). Mr Cartlidge highlighted that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) “has learned lessons from previous operational activity and is developing a number of criminal investigations into those involved in waste crime”. He also stated that HMRC has deployed more resources, doubling staff numbers to 50, to increase the number of civil investigations of landfill tax non-compliance. He acknowledged that it is a “relatively difficult tax to enforce”. In response to criticism from MPs, he argued that the tax [...]