Finance Bill Committee Stage

On Wednesday 10 January 2024, the House debated and voted on New Clauses 5 and 7 to the Finance Bill at its Committee Stage.

New Clause 5 would require the government to produce an assessment of the impact of the Bill’s tax evasion and avoidance measures. The assessment would need to examine whether the capacity and ability of HMRC was sufficient to properly enforce those measures.

I abstained on New Clause 5 which was defeated by a vote of Ayes 18: Noes 300.

The Opposition tabled New Clause 7 which would require the Chancellor to review the effectiveness of measures in this Act to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money, and to compare them with other measures that seek to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money and the approach taken in other countries. The New Clause would require the Government to be open and honest about what they are doing to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money, in terms of the measures in this Bill, other measures more widely and in comparison with the practices overseas.

I voted in favour of New Clause 7 but this was defeated by a vote of Ayes 222: Noes 301.

After the Committee stage, the Bill will enter the Report stage followed by the Third reading in the House of Commons. Once it passes these stages it will move to the House of Lords for its First reading.