Clause 5 - Taxation
Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
10:45 am
Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)
I have some questions regarding clause 5 that I hope the Minister can answer.
Why are the Government proposing the exemption in clause 5 when almost everything else seems to have been included? Under the clause, does taxation include stealth taxes? Many people regard the power to increase administrative fines and penalties as effectively stealth taxes. Indeed, yesterday, there was a debate on orders that would allow local authorities to impose penalties for what is described as “mass dog-walking”. At the moment, those penalties are limited to £80 per dog, or perhaps per incident per dog. However, it was suggested that that was effectively a stealth tax. As I understand it, under the legislation before us, that could still be introduced as a stealth tax, notwithstanding the provisions of clause 5.