Non-Domestic Rating (Deferred Payments) (England) Regulations 2009

I think that we received a copy of the opinion to which the noble Lord referred, and I have a note on it which I may come to in more detail in a moment. I do not believe that it is a separate opinion that we have gone out and sought that contradicts the position we have taken to date. I shall come to it in a moment. The third reason for not waiving the backdated liability for ports is because to suddenly remove this principle for a single sector is out of the question. Quite apart from the state aid concerns this would raise, the fundamental issue is that government would selectively let some businesses off a legally established tax and would actively disadvantage those companies that discharged their tax liabilities on time. Our starting point, rightly in my opinion, is that in principle the tax system must be equitable to all and any solution to a perceived injustice must not confer a disadvantage upon other taxpayers who have already paid. To do so temporarily for the 2005 list would be completely inequitable to the businesses that have also already been served and indeed discharged backdated liabilities in the past, as well as those that may possibly be liable in future. Noble Lords may like to know that as at 8 October, 221 properties with ports have fully discharged their backdated liability and a further 200 business properties within ports have been granted a schedule of payments. To be clear, what is suggested would mean that, unlike all other tenants across England liable for rates, including the separately assessed properties in ports identified for the start of the 2005 list, these newly rated businesses would be given a directly favoured tax advantage over other separately assessed properties within ports and elsewhere. I ask the noble Lord whether that is seriously the sort of tax regime that he and his party would support. Furthermore we do not believe it would be in the interests of fair competition or in line with the principles of taxation for such a liability to be waived. No one in your Lordships' House can disagree that the unexpected backdated liabilities, combined with the current economic climate, have hit businesses hard in all sectors and areas across England. Yet despite what the Opposition may purport, we in government recognise this and sympathise with their plight, which is why, among other initiatives to help businesses, we are specifically providing assistance to all businesses, not just ports, affected by significant and unexpected backdated liabilities through the schedule of payments scheme, which came into force in April this year.