New Clause 2 - Fiscal and economic impact of 2% non-resident surcharge

Part of Finance Bill – in the House of Commons at 8:45 pm on 24 May 2021.

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Photo of Iain Duncan Smith Iain Duncan Smith Conservative, Chingford and Woodford Green 8:45, 24 May 2021

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. The point I am trying to make to my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary and others on the Treasury Bench is a fairly gentle one: this is something that we can rectify, and we have the capacity to rectify it. We should think of what will happen if it goes much further. We should think of the loan charge and the huge human problems that were caused by that and the attempt by the Treasury to use retrospective legislation to grab money back. Who got hammered in all that? Not the organisations that were doing these things, but the individuals who were led to believe they were in the right set-up. It is always going to be them who get hammered. I thought the purpose of Government was to protect the vulnerable and deal with those who are abusing them.