National Insurance Contributions Bill

I have merely read through the transcript of the Committee—I was not there at the time, unfortunately. There was a simple and in no sense politically loaded request for clarification of the revenue position in light of the fact that the proposals covered part of a tax year. It may well be that the answers that we were seeking were in the regulatory impact assessment and did not need any explanation or clarification from the Minister, but the exchange that I read was unsatisfactory, and that is what led to my hon. Friend speaking and voting as he did. My final point concerns a basic element of tax policy. We keep getting pieces of legislation that are designed to plug loopholes, and it is sometimes necessary to ask why so much avoidance takes place. Some of it must be due to the extreme and growing complexity of tax legislation. One of the most interesting contributions in the Committee was made by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field), who forcefully made the point that he was discussing a Bill designed to plug a tax loophole that was in large part generated by the vast ramifications of the complexity of tax law that the Government are creating. He makes an entirely valid point. We should stress that the more complex tax legislation becomes, the greater the incentives and opportunities for tax avoidance, and the more legislation is required to deal with it. I reiterate my first and major point that the principle of preventing people from creating complex tax avoidance measures to avoid paying national insurance must surely be right. It is only regrettable that we have not had the necessary safeguards on the retrospective application of the legislation.