Tax avoiders "run rings" round HMRC Promoters of tax avoidance schemes are winning a game of cat and mouse with the tax authority, MPs said on Tuesday. Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, said: "Promoters of "boutique" tax avoidance schemes, like the one brought to our attention by the case of Jimmy Carr, are running rings around HMRC (HM Revenue& Customs) ." The cross-party committee urged HMRC to take "a much more robust approach" to tackling abuses. It wants the tax authorities to investigate cases more quickly, take legal action against more schemes and consider "naming and shaming" promoters and users. The MPs said far too much money was lost to avoidance, citing HMRC estimates that in 2010-11 the resulting tax gap was £5bn. They called for more action against promoters who were deliberately obstructive or sold schemes that they knew did not work. A lack of transparency, often involving the deliberate use of offshore structures, made it hard to find out who was involved in marketing or using these schemes, Ms Hodge said. She added: "HMRC publicises details of schemes that do not work but does not name the promoters or the clients. We have seen how public anger and consumer pressure can influence large companies, such as Starbucks, to behave more responsibly. George Osborne, chancellor, announced new weapons to combat avoidance schemes in his last Budget, including a general anti-avoidance rule and new limits on loss relief, in an attempt to target some of the most common structures used by the wealthy. The MPs on the committee said, however, that a wider range of measures was needed to combat tax avoidance. They urged HMRC to assess the approach of countries such as Australia, which requires advance rulings on whether a scheme works and penalties for promoting those that do not. The MPs said they had heard "mixed evidence" on HMRC's investigation of tax avoidance. They welcomed the extra funds that it had been awarded to tackle the issue but wanted HMRC to demonstrate they were used to good effect. HMRC had a good success rate when it took cases to court, winning 51 of the 60 cases it had launched since April 2010 but that number was "tiny" compared with the number of unresolved cases, the committee said. Courts have ruled in HMRC's favour in multiple tax avoidance cases where over £1bn has been protected The requirement for promoters to give early notification of new schemes had allowed some to be swiftly closed down. But the disclosure rules captured only 46 per cent of tax at risk from avoidance and HMRC did not know how much promoters simply chose to ignore the requirement. HMRC said: "We are glad the report exposes the practices of promoters who sell tax avoidance schemes to wealthy individuals. In the last year alone the courts have ruled in HMRC's favour in multiple tax avoidance cases where over £1bn has been protected. Additionally the government recently announced an extra £77m in HMRC funding to tackle evasion and aggressive avoidance; we have also already consulted on strengthening the regulations around these schemes; and, for the first time ever, this government is introducing a general anti-abuse rule which will make it even harder for people to avoid paying their share of tax. The committee has been highly critical of corporate tax avoidance while the Financial Times revealed last week that big companies faced being banned from bidding for major government contracts under rules aimed at clamping down on aggressive tax avoidance by some of Whitehall's most important suppliers