Clause 31 - Exemptions for dormant companies and
Finance Bill
2:45 pm
Mr John Burnett (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Torridge and West Devon, Liberal Democrat)
I do not want to repeat the points made by the hon. Gentleman, although I have sympathy with what he asserted. The lack of amendment No. 9 will provide simplicity, but there is no real reason why the benefit of simplification should be significantly denied if we agree to it. To avoid unnecessary compliance burdens, exemption should be available to companies whenever they become dormant. The number of companies that become dormant after 31 March is not likely to be great, and any potential risk to the Exchequer could be eliminated by introducing a clearance procedure as a precondition of exemption for newly dormant companies. That comes to me in a briefing from the Confederation of British Industry. It would enable a smoother and fairer operation of the transfer pricing rules. I shall not repeat the remarks about how difficult it is to debate the subject, given the straitjacket of EU rules. I look forward to hearing
the Paymaster General's comments on the amendment.