Opposition Day — Reducing Tax Avoidance — 11 Feb 2015 at 18:48

The majority of MPs voted against introducing a penalty regime for the general anti-abuse rule and against other measures intended to reduce tax avoidance.

The motion rejected by the majority of MPs taking part in this vote stated:

• That this House
• notes with concern that following the revelations of malpractice at HSBC bank, which were first given to the Government in May 2010, just one out of 1,100 people who have avoided or evaded tax have been prosecuted;
• calls upon Lord Green and the Prime Minister to make a full statement about Lord Green’s role at HSBC and his appointment as a Minister;
• regrets the failure of the Government’s deal on tax disclosure with Switzerland, which has raised less than a third of the amount promised by Ministers;
• welcomes the proposals of charities and campaigning organisations for an anti-tax dodging Bill; and
• further calls on the Government to clamp down on tax avoidance by introducing a penalty regime for the general anti-abuse rule, which is currently too weak to be effective, closing the Quoted Eurobonds exemption loophole, ensuring that hedge funds trading shares pay the same amount of tax as other investors, introducing deeming criteria to restrict false self-employment in the construction industry, and scrapping the shares for rights scheme, which the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned could cost £1 billion in avoidance.

Debate in Parliament | Source |