The first television advert encouraging the public to report self-employed people who deliberately dodge paying tax is being launched tomorrow.

The £1.7 million campaign by HM Revenue & Customs urges people to call a new confidential hotline if they suspect someone is cheating the system.

The advert shows a man in a pub bragging about his tax dodging, his shoddy workmanship and the fact he never gives his customers receipts.

It follows a series of radio and press adverts on the issue, which the Revenue said had led to a "huge increase" in calls about suspected tax cheats.

However, the press adverts have provoked a backlash from the Federation of Small Businesses, which described them as a "slur" on self-employed people.

The business support group, which has 190,000 members and represents more than 25,000 people in Sussex, made a formal complaint about an advert showing a plumber hiding under a kitchen sink.

The group objected to the specific wording of the text, which read: "With your help, we'll make sure self-employed people who don't pay their tax have nowhere to hide."

The FSB said the words were "offensive", "clumsy" and "tarred 2.7 million selfemployed people with the same brush".

The Revenue said the adverts were part of a general campaign reminding people of their tax obligations when they start up their own businesses.

However, it later changed "self-employed people who don't pay their tax" to "people whose businesses are not registered for tax".

Simon Briault, FSB press officer, said the group would be watching the TV advert, which is showing in the break in Coronation Street, with interest.

He said: "We will certainly take action if we get reports from our members (that) it is offensive towards them or a particular group."

"We are supportive of the Revenue's campaign because it is money that is not going into the Government's coffers and that means higher taxes for everyone, including the selfemployed.

"But there is no point making that case if you are going to unfairly single out a certain sector when what you should be targeting people who avoid paying tax in general."

Revenue chairman Sir David Varney said: "The majority of people are honest taxpayers but there is a minority out there who refuse to pay their way. Turning a blind eye only reinforces their behaviour.

"Honest members of the public are clearly concerned about people who avoid paying their taxes and now that we have a dedicated hotline number, it's easy for people to call us and we'll do something about it.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006