Finance Bill

The estimate would have been that it was a negligible cost, because it was not the Government’s intention to tax advantage term assurance. The hon. Gentleman is not answering the question whether, as a matter of principle, he supports the extension of tax relief to life insurance and term assurance products to close what he has called ““the coverage gap””. Until he answers that question, it is hard for the Committee to understand whether he supports or opposes our proposals. At the moment, he is just drifting in the middle.