(except clauses 4, 5, 20, 28, 57 to 77, 86, 111 and 282 to 289, and schedules 1, 3, 11, 12, 21 and 37 to 39) - Clause 30 - Provision not at arm's length: transations between UK taxpayers
Finance Bill
2:30 pm
Mr John Burnett (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Torridge and West Devon, Liberal Democrat)
I, too, welcome you, Sir John. The Paymaster General is, as usual, being patient. She will recall that this morning I alluded to tax harmonisation, to which I am utterly opposed, in the points that I made about what the Spanish Government are doing about transfer pricing and thin capitalisation.
I have received a brief from the Institute of Directors, which I am sure the Paymaster General has seen. The institute makes an excellent point, which is very relevant to what she has just said about the encroachment on our independent, sovereign power to tax. It reluctantly concludes that
''the Government had little choice but to pass this legislation, although we continue to call for an amendment to the European Treaties''—
it splits an infinitive but I will not—explicitly to allow
''member states to ''discriminate'' in tax matters.''
I would very much favour that, and I look forward to hearing the right hon. Lady's views on such an amendment to the treaty.