NAMED: £1.5BN TAX DODGERS

MORE than 4,000 of the biggest tax defaulters have faced demands for over £1.5billion from HM Revenue and Customs.

- BY NICK SOMMERLAD Investigations Editor

The Government has named and shamed the worst since 2015 and we can reveal the list for the first time.

It only includes those penalised under civil procedures and does not cover criminal convictions for tax fraud, HMRC said.

Hospitality businesses - such as pubs, restaurants and takeaways - and construction trades such as plumbing and plastering each make up about a fifth of those named.

But five of the top 10 are recruitment or payroll firms which owed £145million in tax and penalties.

Scrap

The biggest tax defaulter is a recruitment firm from Derby, Simplify Contracting Services Limited, which went bust two years ago owing £60.6m to the taxman.

Second is payroll firm Work Legal E Ltd, from Edinburgh, which was first exposed by the Mirror and owes £42.2m in tax and penalties. Third is scrap metal dealer JKL (Wakefield) Ltd from Osset, West Yorkshire, which owed £39m to the taxman.

Only £2.1m was recovered by the liquidator.

There are 10 firms in Yorkshire involved in scrap or recycling which have been named liable for £60.4m in tax and penalties.

Mike Lewis, director of investigative think-tank TaxWatch, said: "£1.5bn is roughly the cost of an NHS dentist appointment for everyone in Britain. But it could be the tip of an iceberg.