Clause 48 - Election to forego roll-over relief on transfer of business
Finance Bill
4:45 pm
Ms Ruth Kelly (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Bolton West, Labour)
This is a question not of principle but of pragmatism. Every taxpayer who made a disposal of shares soon after incorporation would, under the hon. Gentleman's proposal, feel compelled to work through every possible combination of full and partial elections to see which gave the best results. The legislation would have to be considerably expanded to cater for the different circumstances that needed to be addressed by a partial election.
I do not dispute the fact that the amendment would benefit some people. However, I do not believe that it would be worth while to include the amendment because of the additional complexity that it would introduce, which would be to the disadvantage of the majority of owners who incorporate their businesses. What we hear from businesses is that they would like the tax system to be simpler. The proposals in clause 48 would help many people in a simple, straightforward way. It is the inherent complexity, not the principle, of the amendment that I cannot accept.