Investigatory Powers

Part of Clause 48 – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 May 1976.

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Photo of Mr John Pardoe Mr John Pardoe , North Cornwall 12:00, 17 May 1976

Yes, indeed. In the case of some of the self-employed, we are dealing with a situation of self-assessment. To a large extent on all Schedule D incomes, whether one is self-employed on all one's income or on part of it, it is a self-assessment system. But not everyone is self-employed, and even there the Government have not made out a case for these very stringent powers at this stage.

6.0 p.m.

My second comment to the Chief Secretary is that the proposed legislation, in my view, will have the opposite effect to the one that he imagines. It will encourage further attempts to evade by those who are so minded. I should prefer to see encouragement to become honest by creating an indictable offence of, say, aggravated tax evasion, where the sum involved is, say, more than £1,000. It would then be triable in a Crown Court, and I suggest a maximum penalty of five years up to £100,000 and 10 years above that figure. If we had penalties of that kind, we would deal with tax evasion without giving Inland Revenue officers all these totally unnecessary powers.

The Chief Secretary does not need the powers, and they were castigated by the Chancellor back in 1972. I hope that the Chief Secretary has read the debate on 12th June 1972. If he has not, I am happy to pass him my own marked copy. It is a disgusting read. It is even more disgusting when it is compared with the speech today of the right hon. and learned Member for Surrey, East, because there we see hypocrisy galore.