HMRC In Crackdown On Strippers' Tax Affairs

A tax crackdown targeting strippers, adult club owners and online escort agencies is being launched by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Officials want to identify traders and entertainers in the adult entertainment industry who operate in the "hidden economy" and are not registered with HMRC for VAT, income tax or PAYE.

The industry was estimated in 2010 to be worth £5bn and the Government department said there had been sharp growth in online escort agencies.

HMRC is aiming to yield £2.5m from the crackdown.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is creating a task force along the lines of previous initiatives which have seen it target areas such as hidden wealth, restaurants, taxi operators, VAT repayments, income tax and self-assessment and undeclared property sales.

Jim Stevenson, head of HMRC task forces, said: "Large numbers of people working in this industry are paying the tax they owe and they don't have anything to worry about.

"The people being targeted by this task force have no intention of playing by the rules, and we won't tolerate this.

"No industry is safe where tax evasion is concerned – we won’t stop tracking people down and taking back what they owe."

HMRC said it had launched more than 140 task forces since 2011 collecting over £404m, including £109m brought in during the first six months of the current financial year.

Last month a mother-of-five who hid her £650,000 income from her London-based escort agency so that she could avoid paying tax and claim state benefits was jailed for three years at Canterbury Crown Court.