HMRC never settles disputes for any less than the amount of tax we believe is due under the law (Report, 27 March). We subject large businesses to an exceptional level of scrutiny, actively investigating more than half of the UK’s largest businesses at any one time. Last year alone HMRC secured £8bn in additional funding for our vital public services by intervening to make sure large businesses play by the rules. Since 2010 we have also secured around £2.5bn from tackling offshore tax dodgers. The UK’s tax gap is down to 6% – its lowest level ever and one of the lowest in the world.
Penny Ciniewicz
Director general for customer compliance group, HMRC
• As I write at the end of the third day’s play in the New Zealand v England Test match, 23 wickets had fallen – all 23 taken by each side’s pair of opening bowlers, in 128 overs . The other seven bowlers in the game have taken no wickets in 127 overs. So the opening bowlers took 100% of the wickets in around 50% of the overs. Is this some sort of a record?
Simon Lawton-Smith
London
• The beast from the east continues to unleash its wrath to spoil the bank holiday, but hell freezing over is going a bit too far (Vatican scrambles to clarify pope’s denial of hell, 31 March).
Dr Pete Rushforth
Sheffield
• Has anybody else noticed the remarkable similarity between Trump’s scary new national security adviser John Bolton (Report, 24 March) and black-and-white TV children’s fave Mr Pastry?
Tony Riddeck
New Romney, Kent
• Is the growing size of the quick crossword a response to an ageing readership? If it grows beyond Saturday’s (31 March) half-page, I shall be able to complete it with a felt tip pen and no glasses.
Glenn Barr
Hornsea, East Yorkshire
• So Wagner turns out to be as bad as it sounds after all (Viola player wins case for hearing damage, 28 March).
Ian Watson
Glasgow
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