Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-12-01
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand why the hon. Gentleman presses the matter, because there is obviously an issue that relates to his constituent. If the hon. Gentleman writes to me about those points, I will be very happy to take a look and pass over anything appropriate for HMRC to look at Let me go back to the points that the right hon. Member for Barking made. She was suggesting that our law enforcement is not sufficient. Of course there is always more we can do, of course people who want to do wrong work very hard at it, and of course we need to keep up with them—the Government are committed to doing so—but I point her to two figures. First, the Financial Conduct Authority has issued fines totalling £336 million since 2018, which does not suggest inactivity. Secondly, before I took on my Treasury role I was very proud to be a Law Officer overseeing and superintending the Serious Fraud Office, so I know how hard the SFO works to tackle fraud and crime. Since 2014, through deferred prosecution agreements, it has delivered £1.6 billion to the public purse The Bill will put on the statute book a number of measures to protect our economy from disruption and tackle economic crime. I hope that those hon. Members who have spoken so vociferously in favour of such action will support those measures in our Bill Question put and agreed to. Clause 27 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 28 Diverted Profits Tax: Closure Notices Etc Amendments made: 2, in page 22, line 40, leave out from "to" to end of line 41 and insert "a relevant enquiry" See the explanatory statement for Amendment 3. Amendment 3, in page 23, line 5, at end insert— "(3A) In subsection (2), ‘relevant inquiry’ means— (a) an enquiry into the company tax return for the accounting period mentioned in subsection (1)(a); (b) where the charging notice mentioned in subsection (1)(a) is issued to a company (‘the foreign company’) for an accounting period by reason of section 86 applying in relation to it for that accounting period, an enquiry into any company tax return for the avoided PE (within the meaning of section 86) that may be amended by virtue of section 101B(2) so as to reduce the taxable diverted profits arising to the foreign company in that accounting period."—(Lucy Frazer.) This amendment (together with Amendment 2) is to prevent the issuance, during a diverted profits tax review period of a foreign company, of a closure notice in respect of a company tax return of an entity carrying on trading activity in the UK where that return is capable of being amended to bring into account amounts that would otherwise be taxable diverted profits of the foreign company. Clause 28, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 53 to 66 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 84 to 90 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 12 agreed to. Clause 91 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 13 agreed to. Clause 92 ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause 5 Reviews of Economic Crime (Anti-money Laundering) Levy ‘(1) The Government must publish a review of the operation of the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy by 31 December 2027 (2) The Government must publish on 31 December each year until the establishment of a register of beneficial owners of overseas entities that own UK property— (a) an assessment of the contribution to the effectiveness of the Levy that such a register would make; and (b) an update on progress toward implementing such a register.’—(James Murray.) This new clause will put into law the Government’s commitment to undertake a review of the Levy by the end of 2027, and require them to publish an assessment every year until a register of beneficial owners of overseas entities that own UK property is in place an assessment of what impact such a register would have on the effectiveness of the Levy, and progress toward the register being established. Brought up, and read the First time. Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.