"Ahead of a speech today, Keir Starmer said the economic climate meant it was more important than ever to tackle tax dodgers.
Mr Starmer said a merger of the fraud team at the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Revenue and Customs' prosecutions office meant he now had a bigger team to deal with such cases.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is, of course, always important to prosecute tax evasion but never more so than in this sort of hardship we find ourselves in now.
"There are people really suffering who are paying their taxes.
"I think it is important for a prosecution service to respond to public concern, to be seen to be in tune with what ordinary people think ought to happen and to gain the confidence of people that we are prosecuting good cases properly."
He added: "There's a difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion and we are concerned here with tax evasion, which includes an element of fraud, of dishonesty.
"But that having been said, the heart of the ramping-up is not only the increase in volume that's already been referred to but also a demonstrability to prosecute highly complex dishonest tax avoidance schemes.
"So, big tax avoidance schemes if they are dishonest will be prosecuted."
Mr Starmer said it was a "ramping-up" of the efforts to tackle the problem.
The CPS secured 550 tax evasion convictions in 2011/12.
He added: "The way that tax evasion is dealt with is really a matter for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They have got a range of powers and abilities.
"What this demonstrates is that the number of cases prosecuted is going to go up. We are talking about a five-fold ramping-up over a four-year period so it is a significant increase intended to make clear that in hard economic times, when law-abiding taxpayers are suffering real hardship, it's important to prosecute these cases."
Public prosecutors to target 'dishonest' tax avoidance - Telegraph
Mr Starmer said a merger of the fraud team at the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Revenue and Customs' prosecutions office meant he now had a bigger team to deal with such cases.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is, of course, always important to prosecute tax evasion but never more so than in this sort of hardship we find ourselves in now.
"There are people really suffering who are paying their taxes.
"I think it is important for a prosecution service to respond to public concern, to be seen to be in tune with what ordinary people think ought to happen and to gain the confidence of people that we are prosecuting good cases properly."
He added: "There's a difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion and we are concerned here with tax evasion, which includes an element of fraud, of dishonesty.
"But that having been said, the heart of the ramping-up is not only the increase in volume that's already been referred to but also a demonstrability to prosecute highly complex dishonest tax avoidance schemes.
"So, big tax avoidance schemes if they are dishonest will be prosecuted."
Mr Starmer said it was a "ramping-up" of the efforts to tackle the problem.
The CPS secured 550 tax evasion convictions in 2011/12.
He added: "The way that tax evasion is dealt with is really a matter for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They have got a range of powers and abilities.
"What this demonstrates is that the number of cases prosecuted is going to go up. We are talking about a five-fold ramping-up over a four-year period so it is a significant increase intended to make clear that in hard economic times, when law-abiding taxpayers are suffering real hardship, it's important to prosecute these cases."
Public prosecutors to target 'dishonest' tax avoidance - Telegraph
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