"The details of a tax defaulter will be held on HMRC’s website for a maximum of twelve months from the date they are first published and are not stored within the national archives.
"A deliberate defaulter is a person who incurs a relevant penalty for one of the following:
An inaccuracy in a return or document for a tax period beginning on or after 1 April 2010.
A failure to comply with certain obligations, such as the obligation to notify HMRC of a liability to tax.
A VAT or excise wrongdoing that occurred on or after 1 April 2010.
The measure affects the following groups of taxpayers:
Taxpayers (individuals, businesses and companies) who are penalised for deliberately understating tax due, or overstating claims or losses, of more than £25,000.
Taxpayers who are penalised for deliberately failing to notify HMRC when required to do so, leading to a loss of tax of more than £25,000.
Taxpayers who are penalised for deliberately committing certain VAT and excise wrongdoings, leading to a loss of tax of more than £25,000.
Taxpayers who make unprompted disclosures or a satisfactory fully prompted disclosure are not affected by these rules. Obviously, the threat of being named and shamed is not a sufficient deterrent for every taxpayer, but for many that have outstanding issues this may offer enough encouragement to come forward.