Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report into tax compliance and avoidance, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
The report is right to point the finger at HMRC but the real villains of the piece are the politicians who have created a tax code so complex that even the taxman can't administer it. We can shout until we're blue in the face about closing loopholes and cracking down on evaders, but politicians could do just that if they radically reformed the tax code. Of course HMRC needs to up its game, as the report makes clear, but it's hardly a surprise that mistakes creep in when you're trying to enforce a tax system of almost comical complexity. It's time for a little less talk and a lot more action."