11:32am Friday 12th July 2013 in Business 
By Ellis Butcher, Reporter
A BUSINESS group is demanding answers from the tax man today amid reports it is sending a special task force to the Lake District.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been asked to 'clarify its objectives' by the Federation of Small Businesses.
The membership body was responding to a HMRC statement earlier this week which it said 'indicated that a HMRC taskforce will visit Lake District and Blackpool businesses to recover £3 million'.
Gary Lovatt is the FSB Regional Chairman for Lancashire & Cumbria and said: "The FSB takes the issue of tax evasion very seriously and believes that all businesses, no matter their size, should pay the correct level of tax.
"However we know that small firms can find tax complicated and the work being done to simplify the tax system will give deregulatory benefits while increasing compliance."
"Our request with this taskforce is that it is not overly heavy-handed in its approach. Specifying the amount of money that the taskforce has been targeted to recover seems wrong.
"HMRC should be looking to ensure that all businesses pay the correct amount of tax. Our members receive free taxation support with their membership and we will be on-hand to help them to ensure they pay the correct amount of tax, not a penny more or less."
The news follows the announcement of a new task force being set up by HMRC with the aim of recovering £5.5m from illegal tax evaders.
The team will be targeting those working in the holiday industry locally and elsewhere.
David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the treasury, said: "We are determined to support hardworking people who want to get on in this industry and every other.
"However, the people being targeted by this task force have no intention of playing by the rules. "The government has made it clear that we will not tolerate tax evasion and we have provided HMRC with the resources to crack down on those who break the rules."
More than £80m has been collected by similar task forces launched by HMRC since 2011. A further £270m is expected to be recovered over the next three years.
