The UK’s $39 billion tax gap has left a ‘financial black hole’ for its already-battered economy

The UK’s $39 billion tax gap has left a ‘financial black hole’ for its already-battered economy

The UK's tax gap, which shows the balance between the amount of tax expected and actually paid, fell to a five-year low of $39 billion in the year 2018-19, official data showed.The UK's revenue department collected a total of £628 billion ($794 billion) in that year, making up about 95% of the tax expected by authorities. But any impact from the Covid-19 outbreak on the tax gap will likely only be seen in 2020-21.Adding to the economy's woes, "a financial black hole of £31 billion remains eye-watering by any standards," a senior analyst at AJ Bell said.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The gap between the amount of taxes expected and what was actually collected by the UK's Revenue and Customs department was £31 billion ($39 billion) for the year 2018-2019.

Although that seems like a massive number, it is actually a 15 year low in percentage terms, according to a report released Thursday by the Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the government department responsible for taxes in the UK.

The tax gap shockingly equals the amount spent on relief measures to stem an economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic so far.

The estimate represents 4.7% of the UK's tax liabilities, which means that