At least 23 of the 2,100 largest businesses in the UK are being investigated by HMRC for tax evasion, according to law firm Pinsent Masons.

HMRC is expected to increase its investigations into big businesses as the government looks to maximise its revenue to fill the gap made by falling tax takes and increased costs to pay for Coronavirus-related economic assistance programmes.

The 23 businesses were referred to HMRC’s ‘Tax Evasion Referral’ teams which looks at cases to determine whether a civil investigation should be launched, or criminal referrals made to HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service.

Pinsent M...