The point is that the relief is designed to support the range of theatre productions across the UK, in both the subsidised and commercial sectors. We worked closely with the subsidised sector when developing the policy, and we are confident that it will benefit from the relief.
Let me turn to the points made about measures to deal with tax avoidance schemes, including the accelerated payments regime and follower notices. My hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) asked whether taxpayers who have not used a true tax avoidance scheme will be caught, perhaps with a precautionary notification having been made under the DOTAS regime. Any unintended consequences for compliant taxpayers will be minimal. Where the taxpayer has used a relief correctly, but a DOTAS disclosure has been triggered, there would not normally be any tax in dispute, and there will therefore be no accelerated payment. If a taxpayer has used a relief largely as intended, but some elements are disputed, then an accelerated payment—if one is required—would be confined to the disputed elements. Let me be clear that the accelerated payment is the amount of tax that the taxpayer can expect to pay if their avoidance fails, taking account of their overall tax position. It is not some arbitrary amount, as has been alleged by those who have tried to discredit the measure.
My hon. Friend asked whether the measure will be retrospective in effect, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Mr Burley). We had an extensive debate on that point in Committee, and the Committee reached a sensible conclusion, but let me set out the issue again. The measure is not retrospective. The rules about whether the taxpayer’s scheme does or does not
work and about the amount of any tax liability will not be changed. The taxpayer would have already paid the money had they not entered an avoidance scheme. The taxpayer can continue to dispute the case, and will be paid back with interest should they win. We are not restricting people’s rights. Prudent taxpayers should recognise that tax avoidance carries a significant risk of not working and that the tax might become payable, so they should make plans for such an outcome.