“Whistleblowing: the good, the bad and the ugly” by Rachel Clark, barrister at Bright Line Law, specialising in tax investigations (both avoidance and evasion)

Rachel Clark explains everything you need to know about blowing the whistle, a practice that is on the rise.


There was a 10% increase in tax whistleblowing in 2019/20.


This may have been inspired by widespread furlough fraud: by 1 July 2020, 4,500 employees had blown the whistle on their own employers, and the revenue is already reviewing 27,000 ‘high risk’ cases where abuse or fraud is suspected.

Genuine, public-spirited whistleblowing can be a huge force for good. However, the UK regime is badly in need of reform. Further, tax whistleblowing can attract an ugly character – the malicious informant – who must be held in check.

Download the full article below.