Schedule 24 - Creative artists: relief for fluctuating profits
Finance Bill
9:30 am
Ms Dawn Primarolo (Paymaster General, HM Treasury; Bristol South, Labour)
The debate is extremely interesting. It concerns the hon. Gentleman's wider point, which is to ensure that balance, complicity and equity are proportionate. Some taxpayers may be sacrificed by ignoring the cliff edge on the basis that they make up a small number. That is interesting in terms of how a Government would approach the simplification of tax and it tends to cause tension in any debate about tax changes. I fully appreciate that it is the job of the Opposition to raise such points, however small the group that may be disadvantaged and we shall refer to that in later clauses.
I am looking forward to how the Opposition will approach the debate on equity and simplicity. None the less, the hon. Gentleman is not making a huge point. He does not want to go to the stake on the issue, and nor do I. I am grateful for his comments and I shall consider the matter again. He is right to say that we want to avoid cliff edges, when possible, but we must decide the point at which we say that, unfortunately, some people are subject to the best result, but that this is the best that we can come up with. That will vary in different debates, but the hon. Gentleman's general point is fair and I note what he said.
Question put and agreed to.
Schedule 24 agreed to.
Clauses 72 to 75 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 104 ordered to stand part of the Bill.