A taskforce has recovered more than £5 million by tackling dishonest dog breeders selling pups on the black market. HMRC set up the taskforce in October 2015 after discussions with animal welfare groups that were concerned that tens of thousands of puppies were being reared in unregulated conditions and sold illicitly every year.
The taskforce uncovered fraudsters selling puppies on a mass scale, for a huge profit and due to the underground nature of the activity, failing to declare their sales.
Using civil and criminal enforcement powers, HMRC has recovered £5,393,035 in lost taxes from 257 separate cases since the formation of the taskforce in October 2015.
The breeders and traders targeted include:
- two unconnected puppy breeders in the west of Scotland who were handed tax bills of £425,000 and £337,000
- a puppy breeder in the Midlands who was a former Crufts judge, given a £185,000 bill
- a dealer in Northern Ireland told to pay £185,000 in tax
- a Somerset puppy breeder was given a £114,000 bill
- a puppy dealer in the east of Scotland was handed a tax bill in excess of £400,000
- a Swansea puppy breeder was given a £110,000 tax bill.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride MP, said:
'It is utterly appalling that anyone would want to treat puppies in such an inhumane way and on such a scale. It's also deeply unfair to all of the legitimate businesses who do pay the right tax, and the total recovered by the taskforce is equivalent to the annual salaries for more than 200 newly qualified teachers.'
'We continue to work hard with other government agencies and our partners to tackle these traders. We urge anyone with information about tax evasion to report it to HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.'
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