Schedule 10 - Stamp duty land tax: miscellaneous amendments
Finance Bill
3:15 pm
Mark Francois (Shadow Minister, Treasury; Rayleigh, Conservative)
I thank the Economic Secretary for his kind compliment about Conservative ingenuity—that was good of him. I am grateful for his reassurances on multiple clawbacks. He will understand that we were seeking to tease out the Government's thinking on a theoretical possibility. We have succeeded in doing that, and I am grateful for what he had to say.
Amendment No. 95 was our principal amendment. You will recall, Mr. Cook, that we wanted to know whether the Government were legislating on the basis of real attempted avoidance schemes. The Minister stated categorically that this measure has been brought in as a result of schemes that the Government judge to have been genuine attempts at avoidance and that the Treasury is, in effect, seeking to plug a loophole. I am prepared to take the Economic Secretary at his word. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.