Tax dodging and non-compliance during the pandemic cost the government £9bn, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. The loss to the public purse came as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) moved thousands of tax compliance staff to Covid support schemes, reducing its capacity to investigate people and businesses not paying the right amount, according to the National Audit Office. – Guardian
A number of prominent journalists who have reported on Twitter and its new chief executive, Elon Musk, appear to have been suspended or banned from the platform. In a series of evening tweets, Musk wrote that sharing his real-time location on Twitter was forbidden, and accused journalists who he alleged had been sharing information about his location of posting “assassination coordinates”. – Guardian
Britain’s largest North Sea oil producer is refusing to bid for new UK oil and gas wells and reviewing its investments in response to the Government’s tax raid on the sector. Harbour Energy said it had decided not to bid for new blocks in the ongoing North Sea licensing round, the first since 2019, after the Government imposed a windfall tax on oil and gas producers earlier in the year. – Telegraph
Unilever has settled its lawsuit with Ben & Jerry’s, bringing to an end an 18-month dispute over ice cream sales in occupied Palestinian territories. In a brief statement posted online, the consumer goods giant said it was “pleased to announce that the litigation with Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board has been resolved”. – Telegraph
The biggest changes to personal taxation in a quarter of a century are to be postponed for a further two years because the computer systems are not ready, triggering concerns that the government is set for another costly public sector IT disaster. The Treasury is to postpone its programme to digitise the tax system – which would have forced 4.2 million self-employed workers and small businesses to file tax returns multiple times a year – from April 2024 until 2026. – The Times
