Clause 16

Part of Finance (No. 3) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:15 am on 17 May 2011.

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Photo of Kerry McCarthy Kerry McCarthy Shadow Minister (Treasury) 11:15, 17 May 2011

I agree. The matter comes down to one issue, which is perhaps slightly out of the scope of our current discussion. The short-sighted view is that the Government can cut costs by laying off HMRC staff. However, compelling representations have been made to me by people who work at HMRC. They argue  that they bring revenue into the Treasury—that they are money makers, because they tackle tax avoidance. If staff are not there to crack down on tax avoidance, we may save on the short-term costs of employing tax inspectors and staff who chase people who are trying to avoid duties, but there will be a medium to long-term cost to the Exchequer of doing that.