EU: UK Net Contributions

Debate between Lord Tebbit and Lord Sassoon

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

Yes, I completely agree with my noble friend.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, did my noble friend say—did I hear him correctly—that this proposal requires unanimity? If so then surely there is no need to negotiate. All one has to do is simply say no.

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, would that life were so simple.

Taxation: Deficit Reduction

Debate between Lord Tebbit and Lord Sassoon

Thursday 28th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

We are consulting widely in the way that is described and we will come forward with proposals in due course. In the mean time, we have allocated an additional £900 million of expenditure to HMRC over the spending review period, which is expected to result in annual revenue increments of £7 billion by the end of that review period. We are taking action very quickly in this area—much more so than did the previous Government.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, will my noble friend choose his words a little more carefully at times? Is it not a fact that in every year through the period of this public expenditure survey, public expenditure will increase and not reduce?

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, I will try to be very careful with my wording and simply agree absolutely with what my noble friend has said.

Taxation: Avoidance

Debate between Lord Tebbit and Lord Sassoon

Wednesday 20th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, I think that Philip Green has done the nation a single service in exposing the extraordinary amount of waste in government that was left unattended to by the Labour Government for 13 years. We will come on to the consequences of that later this afternoon.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that an ounce of practical help is worth a kilo of words? Could he undertake to instruct the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, on how he could offer not to avoid tax by taking advantage of his personal tax allowance? He could start paying 40 per cent tax on all his income from the first pound. That would save him from avoiding tax, which is obviously what he wants to do.

[Lord Sassoon]

I am grateful to my noble friend. One or two correspondents have written in to ask how they could volunteer cheques to the Treasury to help to reduce the national debt, but it seems that the Treasury does not yet have such a facility. However, if other people would like to contribute more in their tax, we can set up the necessary arrangements.