Clause 76 - Taper relief: assets qualifying as business assets
Finance Bill
10:00 am
Mr John Burnett (Torridge and West Devon, Liberal Democrat)
The hon. Gentleman will recall the lengthy discussions that we had on this point last year. Does he agree that the philosophy behind taper relief is that it rewards length of time of ownership? In other words, the longer one has the asset, the more relief one receives. His amendment would ensure that individuals were not disadvantaged for complying with that philosophy. They will have held the asset for a long time, so they should enjoy the same benefits as do people who acquired the asset after April 2000.