Clause 84 - Charge to income tax by reference to enjoyment of property previously owned
Finance Bill
10:45 am
Ms Dawn Primarolo (Paymaster General, HM Treasury; Bristol South, Labour)
I thought that it would be appropriate at the beginning of the debate to mention the points that you made about clause 84, Mr. McWilliam, which simply enables schedule 15 to take effect. I shall not discuss the details of the schedule, but set the scene of the Government's approach.
The provision implements one aspect of the anti-avoidance measures that we announced in the pre-Budget report last year, directed at avoidance involving the contrived use of trusts. We are concerned specifically with the range of schemes that allow wealthy taxpayers to give their assets away, or achieve the appearance of doing so, and so benefit from the inheritance tax exemption for lifetime gifts, while in reality retaining continuing enjoyment of and access to those assets, much as before.