“In the past, more people might have chosen to turn a blind eye to tax evasion, thinking that it was none of their business. Over the last 15 years, people have generally come to accept that paying your taxes honestly is a responsibility everyone shares. Fewer people feel guilty about reporting those who don’t.

“Individuals that have been involved in tax evasion ought to make a disclosure to HMRC at the earliest opportunity and seek specialist advice in the process. HMRC will be far less sympathetic towards those that deliberately conceal their tax affairs and choose to keep quiet.”

HMRC’s success in this area is also rising.

HMRC investigations resulted in 165 individuals being charged with tax evasion in the last six month, up a fifth from the 139 charged in the previous six months as the Government scales up its enforcement activity post-lockdown, according to analysis from Pinsent Masons, the international professional services firm.

The last three months also saw a dramatic improvement in the HMRC’s track record in criminal cases winning 100 percent of all its court cases up from an 88 percent overall success rate for 2019/20 – with a 96 percent overall success rate for the year 2020/21.