HMRC 'discriminates against millionaires' - Telegraph Baker Tilly said a unit at HM Revenue & Customs that targeted wealthy people now regarded anyone with assets of more than £1m as worthy of special attention. "Are they [HMRC] suggesting that these individuals are likely tax evaders who should be subjected to a robust investigation?" asked Gary Heynes and Mike Down of Baker Tilly. If so, has tangible intelligence and evidence been gathered by HMRC's risk teams to justify a compliance strategy which puts all millionaires under the spotlight? We call on HMRC to explain the conclusions of any research carried out and to set out the case for the affluent teams starting what appears to be a discriminatory attack on one sector of society. The firm added that, since the introduction of self-assessment, HMRC had been able to investigate anyone without having to provide a reason. But it said the number of truly random inquiries had been "negligible" as HMRC focused its increasingly limited resources on a risk-based approach. HMRC had previously set £3m in assets as the threshold to be regarded as affluent, but last week announced that affluence now started at just £1m. The taxman said this would bring another 200,000 wealthy taxpayers under scrutiny, to add to the existing 300,000, Baker Tilly said, adding that HMRC would recruit another 100 staff to its existing 200-strong team of inspectors and specialists. "How will they know what someone's net worth is?" the accountants asked. While house prices can be estimated, it will be almost impossible to know what loans are secured against it as not everyone borrows from a high street bank, with private arrangements within families and trusts not uncommon. Second, with reportedly many staff leaving HMRC, where will they find 100 more additional staff with experience in dealing with complex clients?