8. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what HM Revenue and Customs’ most recent estimate is of the annual cost to the Exchequer of tax avoidance in the corporate sector; and if he will make a statement. (256289)

Due to its nature, it is difficult to be precise about the scale of avoidance. The most recent estimate, published by HMRC last March but relating to the start of the decade, showed corporate tax avoidance to be in the range £2.1 billion to £6.6 billion per year. HMRC continues to close down loopholes as it becomes aware of them.