Lords Committee Speaks Out On UK Finance Bill

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

18 June 2003

A House of Lords Committee has reported for the first time on aspects underpinning a UK Finance Bill.

The Economic Affairs Sub-Committee on the Finance Bill, chaired by Lord Peston, examined three main areas of the Bill, namely measures to reduce the incidence of VAT evasion, the reform of the Stamp Duty Land Tax, and the mandatory electronic payment of PAYE by large employers.

With regard to the government's VAT anti-evasion plans, Lord Peston announced on Tuesday that:

'We support the government's efforts to crack down on supply chain frauds which cause VAT losses estimated at a staggering £2.5 billion a year. But a better balance has to be struck between that effort and protecting the rights of legitimate traders.'

He went on to add:

'We also welcome the modernisation of Stamp Duty...The new Stamp Duty Land Tax has important consequences for the commercial property market and developers. The Inland Revenue assure us it will be ready by 1 December 2003, but we have found widespread concern about this in professional and trade circles. It's better to get it right than to stick to an arbitrary target date, so we recommend a review in the Autumn to make sure everything is properly on track.'

Finally, with regard to plans to make the electronic payment of PAYE mandatory for large employers, Lord Peston observed that:

'This is the right way to go. It should speed up and simplify PAYE collection. It should not create problems for bigger businesses.'

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