Speeches by Tomlinson.

“I thank the shadow Minister for his engagement during this process. I look forward to discussing further provisions. Question put and agreed to. Clause 274 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 275 to 279 ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause 2 Report on the impact of section 28 “(1) The Chance…”

“I fully recognise the intention behind these proposals. Members on both sides of the Committee are rightly focused on how tax changes affect businesses of all sizes, across the economy and across the country. We need to make sure that we provide certainty and stability for businesses, which is what we are doing with ou…”

“I have set this out, but I want to clarify that the tribunal is independent. The head of the tribunal would be an existing first-tier tax tribunal judge. As the hon. Member for Newton Abbot has particular experience and interest in this, I will write to him in more detail on the composition and independence of the tax …”

“One of the challenges here is that asking the Opposition to scrutinise the Government’s record on living standards is like asking the thief to scrutinise the workings of the CCTV—it does not make any sense. Their record was appalling: under the previous Government, we saw the deepest squeeze on living standards of any …”

“Let us be really clear: in this Parliament, we are going to see living standards rise, and we are going to do all we can to beat the forecast that the OBR set out. We beat the economic growth forecast last year by 50%. We know the record of the Conservative party: when it was in power, living standards fell over five y…”

“Clauses 242 to 246 require tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of a client to register with HMRC and meet minimum standards from May 2026. We have been debating a number of similar clauses, and this is the final group concerning tax adviser registration. Overall, the measures will help businesses and individu…”

“I thank the shadow Exchequer Secretary, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk, for his engagement and diligence throughout the Committee’s six sittings in scrutinising the Government on this topic, and a whole range of others. I also thank the shadow Economic Secretary, the hon. Member for Wyre Forest, for doing the s…”

“Clause 182(2) sets out: “A requirement under subsection (1)(d) may not prohibit disclosure for, or in connection with, the purpose of— (a) complying with the notice, or (b) seeking legal advice.” It is the Government’s view that that provides sufficient scope for the recipient to be able to disclose information for leg…”

“These clauses cover the same topic—anti-avoidance information notices—as the previous ones. Clauses 186 to 190 set out that failing to comply or concealing information is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine. Responsible persons—for example, directors—can be prosecuted i…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for his questions. We will reasonably consider a whole range of points that have been raised. It is right that senior professionals who interact with HMRC on behalf of taxpayers have their own tax affairs up to date. HMRC expects that of every taxpayer. That expectation is set out in industr…”

“One of the big challenges with these promoters is that, although HMRC often finds different routes to go after them, their non-compliance and the fact they are based overseas make effective enforcement difficult. I am aware of that, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman and other Opposition Members were aware of it whe…”

“These clauses introduce a power for HMRC to issue promoter action notices. As my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary outlined, these are another part of our toolkit in pursuing the promoters. The notices require businesses to stop providing goods or services where those services are used in the promotion of avoidance. C…”

“Clauses 217 to 219 make changes to tackle fraud in the construction industry scheme and support the Government’s objective of closing the tax gap, tackling non-compliance and making the tax system fairer. The construction industry scheme is a revenue protection scheme introduced in 1971 to tackle non-compliance in the …”

“The shadow Exchequer Secretary invited the Economic Secretary to his constituency. Last week, he invited me to come on Valentine’s day to enjoy the bumper cars. I know the Economic Secretary is glad for the invite, but I am particularly glad for the one I received. Turning to the matter at hand, clauses 139 to 147 and …”

“Clauses 213 to 216 make changes to the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes—DOTAS—and the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes for VAT and other indirect taxes regimes. The clauses grant HMRC the authority to assess penalties directly, rather than requiring an application to the tax tribunal for determination. At present…”

“Clauses 206 to 212 make changes to ensure that HMRC can publish the details of legal professionals involved in designing tax avoidance schemes. A very small number of legal professionals have become involved in the promotion of tax avoidance schemes. They are sometimes involved in designing schemes, including by provid…”

“As is the case with other items in this part of the Bill, we consulted extensively on these notices, with a 12-week consultation earlier in the year and a further eight-week consultation on the draft legislation when it was published. We received lots of responses and we made sure to listen to and reflect on the feedba…”

“These clauses introduce new powers for HMRC to issue anti-avoidance information notices. The measures are designed to strengthen HMRC’s ability to tackle the persistent problem of tax avoidance by promoters who exploit loopholes and hide behind complex structures. Clauses 174 and 175 define key terms such as “connected…”

“The shadow City Minister is right to raise that important point on this and other issues in this space. It is important that businesses that are acting legitimately and seeking to build the future of this country by engaging with construction contractors and subcontractors are not unduly burdened by changes we make to …”

“The hon. Member for North West Norfolk will be glad to know that I plan to make a lengthy speech on this group, because it is particularly important that I set out the points the Government wish to make. I have been engaging in detail with stakeholders on the changes we are making, because it is important that legitima…”