Debates between Lord Fowler and Baroness Kramer during the 2019-2024 Parliament

Wed 29th Apr 2020

Tax Avoidance

Debate between Lord Fowler and Baroness Kramer
Wednesday 29th April 2020

(4 years, 7 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Fowler Portrait The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
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The noble Lord, Lord Leigh of Hurley, does not appear to be there. I call the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer.

Baroness Kramer Portrait Baroness Kramer (LD)
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My Lords, quite a number of companies will make extraordinary profits as a consequence of Covid-19. At this point in time it is hard to identify which they are, but we can see that it is happening with some traders and private equity players, and it may well be happening in the digital industry, which is becoming more and more dominant and, as others have said, pays almost no tax in the UK despite the size of its presence. Following our exit from lockdown and the pandemic, will the Government look at a windfall tax so that those who have sacrificed during the pandemic understand that the burden is being spread over everyone’s shoulders?