Clause 43 - Exemptions for disposals by companies
Finance Bill
10:45 am
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs, Conservative)
As is evident, most of the points that we wish to raise are covered in amendments to schedule 8. The clause seeks to achieve something on which there has been extensive consultation with business over a number of years. Again, we give the clause a tick in principle, but there are quite a lot of outstanding concerns about schedule 8.
The clause contains a wide-ranging anti-avoidance provision, the meaning of which is unclear. If the provision were enacted, it would create substantial uncertainty and could exclude from the exemption a broad category of transactions that we are assured it is not intended to exempt. Most of the forthcoming amendments relate to that, but I want to put on record that in principle we welcome the objective of the clause and the constructive approach to addressing that territory.