Successive Governments have had publicity campaigns that aim to terrorise benefit claimants, such as the "No ifs, no buts..." campaign poster (above) which gives the impression we are living in a Stasi state. This kind of campaign is applauded by the press, who generally oppose spying which they often term as "a snooper's charter".
The difference is the public perception. Working people are considered "honest, decent and hard working", while claimants are "lazy and dishonest cheats". With this perception, it is considered fair to strip claimants of normal civil rights.
You would expect then, that benefit fraud is far higher than tax fraud. Statistics for UK fraud can be found from the National Fraud Office:
| Loss | £billion | % Budget | % Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benefit Fraud | 1.1 | 0.8% | 3% |
| Tax Fraud | 15.2 | 3.0% | 50% |
| Tax Gap | 40.0 | 8.0% |
What the table shows is that benefit fraud is tiny compared to the fraud committed by corporations and non-PAYE working people. It is tiny by cost and tiny by percentage. When you include all non-payment of tax, including tax evasion, the tax gap figure is ten times higher than benefit fraud.
The number of benefit claimants currently make up about 15% of the working-age population, whereas benefit fraud only constitutes 3% of all UK fraud. The total DWP budget lost to fraud is 0.8%. Total tax lost to fraud is 3% and the total tax gap is 8%.
This does not indicate higher levels of dishonesty in the underclass!
Perhaps the Government should consider a publicity campaign terrorising all businessmen into paying tax?
Dishonesty exists amongst people throughout the class spectrum.