Clause 42
Finance Bill
9:15 am
Ian Pearson (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Dudley South, Labour)
I am not sure that I have a direct answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question at this point in time. He will be aware of what we are trying to achieve through the clause. He will also be aware that the clause covers trade and property business debts. He asked why there could not be releases of any money debts between group members and he specifically made the point about the period of time. Covering other sorts of debts, such as those relating to the management expenses of investment companies, would have made the clause considerably longer and more complicated, and the representations that have been made to the Government have not suggested that, in practice, such debts cause as many problems as trade debts. However, we have not ruled out the possibility of further changes in the future. We believe that we have covered most of what needs to be done, but we would be happy to receive further representations from business and the professions about any real life problems involving money debts that are not within the clause’s scope.