Clause 2
Finance Bill
10:45 am
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 2, page 2, line 2, at end add—
‘(3) The amount specified in Section 12 of ITA 2007 shall similarly be £37,400.’.
I should say at the beginning that those of us who were in the House on Thursday will be aware that business closed earlier than anticipated. As a consequence, there was something of a hurry to table the amendments. I make no claim that amendment 1 is technically the finest amendment ever placed before the Committee. It is a rather hurried attempt—which I considered to be the lesser of two evils—to submit a flawed but pertinent amendment that would enable the Committee to debate one of the significant issues that face many people in the country, namely the impact on savers of the reduction in interest rates that has occurred in recent months.
We must look at what we can do within the taxation system to help savers at this difficult time. Consequently, amendment 1, which raises the threshold for income tax on savings, is a quick and simple way to bring this matter to the Committee. My party’s policy is to go further than amendment 1, but it is consistent with what the amendment is about, which is to help savers by reducing the burden of income tax on their savings. I hope that that clarification is helpful to the Committee, Mr. Atkinson, before I turn to some of the things that we can do to help savers in the context of clause 2.