Finance (No. 2) Bill — New Clause 25 — Review of Freeports — 19 Apr 2021 at 23:00

The majority of MPs voted not require a report on the impact of freeports on matters including job creation, tax raising, tax avoidance, tax evasion and criminality.

MPs were considering the Finance (No. 2) Bill.^[1][2][3]

The proposed new clause rejected by a majority of MPs in this vote was titled:Review of freeports and stated:

• “(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must review the impact of sections 109 to 111 and schedules 21 and 22 of this Act and lay a report of that review before the House of Commons within six months of the passing of this Act and once a year thereafter.
• (2) A review under this section must estimate the expected impact of sections 109 to 111 and schedules 21 and 22 on—
• (a) job creation within the sites designated as freeports and across the UK as a whole,
• (b) revenue from corporation tax and stamp duty land tax within the sites designated as freeports and across the UK as a whole,
• (c) levels of artificial tax avoidance and tax evasion across the UK as a whole,
• (d) levels of criminal activity,
• (e) the necessary level of staffing for HMRC and the UK Border Force, and
• (f) departmental spending by HMRC and other departments on enforcement.”

The rejected new clause was accompanied by the following explanatory statement from its proposer:

• This new clause would require the Government to review the impact of the provisions of the Act introducing freeports and publish regular reports setting out the findings

Clauses 109-111 provided for the designation of, and special tax treatment for, freeports.^[2][3]

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Finance (No. 2) Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] The Finance (No. 2) Bill (as introduced 11 March 2021), Parliament.uk
• [3] Explanatory notes to the Finance (No. 2) Bill, Parliament.uk

Debate in Parliament |