Lord Tyrie
Main Page: Lord Tyrie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Tyrie's debates with the HM Treasury
(14 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. The opening contributions of the Minister and the shadow Chief Secretary were a little on the long side. Many people want to take part. What I require is brevity—a textbook example of which can now be provided by the Chairman of the Treasury Committee, Mr Andrew Tyrie.
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester) (Con)
I am not so sure about that, Mr Speaker.
I warmly welcome anything that simplifies the tax system; I think we all do. The Chancellor described the new office as a
“a permanent force for a simpler tax system”,
but he has appointed it initially for only one Parliament. Can the Minister explain why? What is to be the annual budget of the office’s permanent staff, and will permanent appointments be subject to scrutiny by the Treasury Committee?
Mr Gauke
On the appointment process, we will see how we go. We are keen that the OTS should be accountable to Parliament, and I dare say that it will give evidence to my hon. Friend’s Committee. As for the cost, as I said a moment ago, the intention is that the costs will be borne from the existing budgets of HMRC and the Treasury. There will be secondees from the private sector, and we expect them to fund that at their own cost. As regards longevity, the initial appointments are for 12 months. We have set up the OTS for a Parliament, but I hope that it will be a permanent feature of our tax system.