The UK’s House of Commons public finances watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee, has urged the country's tax authority to take tougher action on inheritance tax fraud, in a recent report. "The average penalty levied after applying abatements has been only 7 per cent of the maximum available, rising to 12 per cent in cases where the Revenue discovered the negligence”, according to the report. The report also notes that: "The 1999 Finance Act increased penalties for negligence and fraud. After an initial rise, however, the Revenue has applied fewer penalties for negligence in recent years, and in 2003-04 applied them in only 100 cases. The Revenue has recently secured its first successful prosecution for Inheritance Tax fraud, and other cases are currently under investigation.” "The Revenue should...restrict abatements of penalties, not only to encourage representatives to disclose errors voluntarily, but also to deter them from being negligent in submitting inaccurate returns in the first place," the report states. Commenting on anti-avoidance schemes in general, the report said, “The Revenue currently monitors artificial schemes and seeks to block them through litigation or changes in legislation. The Revenue should consider extending the regulations on disclosure to Inheritance Tax avoidance schemes."