Business of the House

Chris White Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I share the hon. Lady’s view. In these seven months that I have had the privilege to be Leader of the House, I have had the opportunity to see the Backbench Business Committee at work. It has been a positive reform in this Parliament and it continues to improve and strengthen its position. I note that Andreas Whittam Smith talked in The Independent this morning about what he regarded as a revitalisation of Back-Bench power in this House. That is due not least to the work of the Backbench Business Committee, and I am glad that we have had the opportunity to support it.

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

Next week, Keith and Frances Smith of Warwick Books will present a petition to Downing street on the amount of corporation tax paid by Amazon. They want to ensure that there is a level playing field between multinational businesses and small businesses such as theirs. As part of that, all businesses must pay their fair share of taxation. The petition has been signed by over 100,000 people. Will the Leader of the House consider allocating time for a debate to ensure a fair tax system for all UK businesses?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making those points. He will have noted that, in a debate yesterday, the general anti-abuse provision was discussed, which is a very important provision. What I would say reflects what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said earlier in the year. We are concerned to pursue a twin track: to continue to reduce corporation tax, as the Chancellor set out in the Budget, so that we are highly competitive among international economies; and to promote and support enterprise and growth. We recognise that one of the most important ways to make the corporation tax reduction possible is to minimise evasion, reduce avoidance and tackle abuse. That is what the Government are doing. The more we can achieve that, the more we can ensure that the tax take is what it ought to be and reduce the rates of tax.