MP CHRIS Evans has called on HM Revenue and Customs to do more to improve tax collection from wealthy individuals.

The call from the Islwyn MP comes after a report published by the public accounts committee raised concerns over a “lack of transparency” which had eroded public trust in the tax system.

Recommendations made by the committee call on HMRC to publish more information, become more transparent and assess what it can do to take a tougher approach to ensure wealthy taxpayers pay their fair share of tax.

Committee member Mr Evans said: ‘We all rely on HM Revenue and Customs to collect the tax it is due. This is as true of the super-rich as it is for everyone else. Yet it is not clear that HMRC is doing enough. It is shocking and an indictment of the tax system that one third of high-wealth tax payers are under investigation at any one time.

“The potential loss to the taxpayer is clearly very high and serious questions must be asked and changes made to put an end to tax evasion and avoidance.”

An HMRC spokeswoman said the “vast majority” of people in the UK pay all the tax they owe.

“There is absolutely no special treatment for the wealthy, and in fact we give them additional scrutiny, with one-to-one marking by HMRC’s specialist tax collectors, to ensure that they pay everything they owe, just like the rest of us do,” she added.