Clause 27
Finance (No. 2) Bill
11:30 am
David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Financial Secretary for his kind and generous words. I fear that I will have the worst of both worlds due to the manner in which I addressed the Committee earlier; I presented something that might be unpopular with some colleagues, but in such a way that I shall lose all credibility with some of my Eurosceptic colleagues.
When we evaluate our relationship with the European Union, it is important to take into account both the credit and debit sides. The purpose of new clause 7 is to highlight one of the disadvantages of our relationship with the European Union. Our tax system is being changed to our disadvantage, which is making it more difficult for the Government to raise revenue through corporation tax in the way that they would like. There is also a constitutional point about how there has been no consent from this House that direct taxation, in particular, should be a matter for the European Union. However, one has to accept that there is a wider picture. There are undoubted advantages to our membership of the European Union: anything that means that Peter Mandelson spends most of his time abroad has got to be a good thing.