Finance (No. 2) Bill

As I was trying to make clear a moment ago, I will turn to the subject of evasion and avoidance l...

The Labour Government set capital gains tax at 18%, which is somewhere near the revenue-maximisin...

One has to look at the tax system as a whole, including capital gains tax, and I am not sure that...

How can the Minister square the statement he has just made with the fact that all his predictions...

Borrowing is down by a third from the position it was in when we came into office—that is the rea...

I do not know whether the Minister did not get the memo, but the Office for Budget Responsibility...

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that borrowing levels are higher than predicted by the OBR thr...

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The reality is that, had we pursued the policies the Opposition advocated at the last general ele...

I thank the Minister for giving way so generously, but I just want him to answer my question. He ...

That is not actually what the OBR numbers at the last Budget showed, but clearly we are faced wit...

If the Finance Bill is such a success in stimulating additional growth, will the Exchequer Secret...

If the hon. Gentleman looks through the OBR’s analysis, he will see its explanation for growth be...

In passing, may I say how hypocritical it is of Opposition Members to say what they have been say...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to do what we can to ensure access to finance for...

I appreciate that the Minister has to deal with an incredibly difficult situation that is not mad...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his remarks. It is right to say that exporting is important. ...

Given that before and after the Budget the corporation tax rate in France was 33%, while in Germa...

I hope the reduction to 20% will have all-party support, but I am sorry if it does not. The advan...

I strongly support the corporation tax move, which will be extremely helpful to Britain’s competi...

My right hon. Friend makes a valuable point. This underlines the fact that the Government were ri...

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I will give way first to my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Fie...

I give my hon. Friend credit for what he has done for the animation and video games industries in...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The Government recognise that capital and investment can...

I welcome some of these targeted measures, particularly those relating to video games. I think th...

There is a balance to be struck, and we have rightly focused on bringing down the rate of corpora...

I have here a letter to the Chancellor from the Admiral group in Swansea—the biggest business in ...

I shall certainly take that intervention as lobbying in support of the proposal. The hon. Gentlem...

The tax breaks for the video games industry are a fantastic opportunity to create swathes of new ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for putting that point on the record. He will be aware of the eff...

When people engage in practices where assets are bought and sold for different prices—for example...

Where there is an element of dishonesty, it is clearly tax evasion, and Her Majesty’s Revenue and...

A theme I have raised many times in the Chamber is the number of staff in HMRC. I am sure the Min...

The hon. Gentleman and I have debated that point on a number of occasions. The important thing is...

While I strongly support the move in the Budget to reduce corporation tax, it is no good encourag...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want an international tax system that ensures that economi...

While the Minister is on the subject of companies that might not pay their fair share of corporat...

No, I cannot confirm that, because it is not correct. The reality is that the reductions in corpo...

I had a feeling the Minister would say that the corporation tax reduction had been offset by the ...

We were clear that our objective was that the bank levy would collect £2.5 billion, on a permanen...

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I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman before moving on to other subjects.

One can understand that conditions will affect the amount that the banks pay, but surely it is a ...

The hon. Gentleman is right. We have adjusted the rate, and increased it to a level at which the ...

Perhaps the Minister will remind Opposition spokespeople that corporation tax is payable only on ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that helpful point.

Turning to the wider issue o...

This announcement is extremely welcome, but most people simply do not know how much the changes w...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. He will be aware of the steps that the Government have...

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I shall give way to the hon. Member for Corby (Andy Sawford), as I have not give way to him yet.<...

The Minister may be reluctant to offer real transparency on the impact of the Government’s change...

I do not recognise those numbers. We have taken steps to try to get the country out of a signific...

What the Minister fails to appreciate, in saying that he does not recognise those figures, is the...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for putting on the record her opposition to the increase in the pe...

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Because he is insistent, I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The Minister is keen to discuss the change in the basic rate allowance, but he is rather less kee...

The vast majority of those people will pay less income tax in total as a consequence of the measu...

I am grateful for the Minister’s enormous generosity in giving way a third time. On the issue of ...

I will try not to digress too much. If I can be helpful to the hon. Gentleman, I do not think he ...

The Minister’s job was clearly to drill down into the technical details, rather than focus on the...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Let us not forget the double-dip recession, together with the shrinking economy in the last quart...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I am pleased to see that he has departed from the vaud...

I am sorry if I am upsetting the hon. Gentleman by having to emphasise some of the things that ar...

The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the global situation, particularly among the eurozone cou...

If I can try to be optimistic, I hope that there will be a sustained increase in employment, but ...

My hon. Friend will know that the debt to GDP ratio will have grown from 55% in 2010 to 85% in 20...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. It is not a good sign that it is taking more and more people t...

I am slightly puzzled that the shadow Minister cannot see the link between the reductions in corp...

I am afraid that the former Minister’s suggestions are not borne out by the evidence. Ultimately,...

On that point about families in which one parent is an earner, will the hon. Gentleman therefore ...

I understand that the hon. Gentleman will be tabling amendments on that issue and look forward to...

My hon. Friend is making an incredibly important point about the uneven effects of the Government...

Where is the regional economic strategy from the Government? Where is their attempt to revitalise...

Does my hon. Friend accept that one of the Government’s biggest failures has been not to resuscit...

It is the politics of shooting oneself in the foot. The difficulty is that the Chancellor does no...

If the Government take action on demand without equivalent action on supply, will that not lead t...

We will undoubtedly be able to judge the success of these issues, but there are some deeper flaws...

Like me, the hon. Gentleman represents an inner-city seat. He will know from his own mailbag that...

The Government are not putting any of those resources into building affordable social housing. Ki...

My hon. Friend will be aware that housing benefit costs have doubled in the past 10 years, but is...

Looking at the situation in the round, that is exactly the sort of welfare reform that we need. I...

My hon. Friend rightly highlights the importance of helping the long-term unemployed back to work...

This is the answer to Ministers who were saying earlier from a sedentary position, “Where are you...

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Order. Although there is no time limit on speeches this evening, I hope that Members will be mind...

If there is one small area where I would agree somewhat with the hon. Member for Nottingham East ...

The hon. Gentleman seems to be saying that the Conservative coalition Government had the benefit ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good case, I suppose, but we all know that the reality was that the sh...

Will the hon. Gentleman clarify his position? Is he suggesting that the OBR—which was hailed as a...

I am expressing the concern that the OBR was somehow seen as a panacea of independence in a lot o...

If there was one test that the Government put in place from the day that they got into power, it ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that if the Government had taken the sensible advice of shadow Treasury...

I thank my hon. Friend, because I was building up to that point.

The Conservatives like to ...

I welcome most measures in this Bill, particularly the rise in the personal tax threshold to £9,4...

What does the hon. Gentleman think about HMRC saying that the tax would actually have brought in ...

HMRC is well aware that people with those sorts of income levels have many choices about what the...

I should like to address the comments of the hon. Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) about capital al...

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case. Does he not welcome the Infrastructure (Financial A...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, certain programmes, such as the Government’s rebuilding schools prog...

May I start by making two observations? This ought to be the keynote debate on the Government’s a...

Before the hon. Gentleman moves too far on from capital spending, will he say why his party in Sc...

The problem with that question is that it comes straight from the Labour party central office bri...

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the first two changes in the 40p band were to ensure that ...

I recognise that an increase in the basic threshold from £6,400 to £9,400, which is a £3,000 rise...

Whatever else can be said, it is quite clear that this Finance Bill will not sort out the public ...

The right hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech, but I am sure he is not suggesting that all...

I never said for a minute that it started recently. It has been going on for donkey’s years. Howe...

The hon. Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) suggested that some people ought to go to prison for such...

It certainly should. I am astonished that no one in this country has yet been prosecuted for the ...

Will the right hon. Gentleman remind the House what the Labour party’s policy is on the so-called...

That might be the case, but I live in hope.

Let me make it absolutely clear that we should have a Government who are arguing for a financial ...

Yes, indeed. I have been advocating such a tax for some time, and I shall continue to do so.

It is a pleasure to speak in today’s debate. This week, of all weeks, is an appropriate time to r...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the average economic growth during the time that Mrs Thatcher wa...

The debate is about sustainable economic growth, and if we look at the record of the 13 years of ...

What is it about 63 consecutive quarters of economic growth that the hon. Gentleman does not reco...

As a member of the Treasury Select Committee, I have had the privilege of interviewing and puttin...

You can’t even get to two quarters of growth—

Order.

According to the permanent secretary at the time, wishful thinking was prevalent across the Labou...

The hon. Gentleman says that my party is guilty of wishful thinking. At the moment, there is no g...

If the hon. Lady had listened, she would know that I did not say that. The phrase about wishful t...

What specific measures in the Budget will give enterprise in my constituency the confidence to be...

The enterprise allowance, for example, enables—

It is not this year.

It will be coming forward.

When?

In 2014. [Interruption.] We have to take a stepped approach to rectify the changes Labour put thr...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the enterprise allowance will be partly funded by the substantia...

It is sad to see such gloomy faces on the Opposition side of the Chamber. I accused the shadow Mi...

Would the hon. Gentleman write me a letter, which I could circulate among the young people in my ...

In a spirit of co-operation I suggest that for a change the hon. Gentleman leaves Croydon—[Hon. M...

What would the hon. Gentleman say to the convenience stores in my constituency who are going to l...

We have to tackle the deficit that faces this country. We know that welfare payments have spirall...

I will happily respond. We would actually bring some growth to the economy and get some of our yo...

Much as I enjoy going to Salford and the hon. Lady’s constituency, some honesty is required about...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I have given way enough. We have all enjoyed the debate, but I shall now finish my speech.