Taxman squeezes big firms for extra £4bn

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As lobbying groups like UK Uncut put the spotlight on tax avoidance in austerity Britain, HMRC took an average of £8.9 million in extra taxes from each of the 460 companies it investigated last year.

This is more than double the amount of five years ago, and 3.5% higher than in 2010.

Jason Collins, partner and head of professional and financial services at the McGrigors law firm, said: "HMRC is trying to squeeze more and more revenue from their investigations into large businesses."

However, he warned that this could be actually be bad for Britain.

"The Treasury is making a real effort to make the UK a more attractive tax centre for businesses to operate in by cutting corporation tax but if HMRC follows a strategy of squeezing big business until their pips squeak then businesses may think
twice about having their tax residence in the UK," Collins added.

HMRC investigated 440 of Britain's biggest 770 companies last year, including most of the FTSE 100 index of leading businesses.