Clause 216 - Agreement between UK and Switzerland

Part of Finance Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:00 pm on 26 June 2012.

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Photo of John Mann John Mann Labour, Bassetlaw 6:00, 26 June 2012

I would not want to criticise the leading Tory funder, who spent £250,000 trying to remove me, because all he did was increase my majority by sending 29 direct mailings to my constituents with a picture of David Cameron on a glossy leaflet. I was able to go to my voters and say, “There you are. That is how they spend their money. Here is all I can afford, but who would you trust?” I praise that kind of investment. Please throw more money my way in the future.

The principle of those who refuse to pay British tax has been outlined. We now call them Jimmy Carr and “morally repugnant” individuals. Those people have let down their country and do not pay their full tax. Jimmy Carr is prepared to change his arrangements. What about the friends, family, staff and backers of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and their party? A whole wodge of them are not paying their taxes. We have no idea where their money is hidden away, because it is totally opaque to the lot of us. What we do know is that there are these kinds of arrangement.

I say to the Minister: less back-slapping on this agreement and more humility to say that this is tiny, but that we will catch up with the Germans. I would like a commitment that what is good enough for the Christian Democrats in Germany, in terms of what they are getting back from Switzerland, can at least be matched by this European-loving coalition Government. We could then congratulate them for beating the Germans in the next few months.