Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I broadly agree with my right hon. Friend. I welcome the welcome that he gives to the agreement that we have with four other European countries on the exchange of information on beneficial ownership. We hope that will set an example that not just the rest of Europe, but the rest of the world will follow.

On tax avoidance, of course it is the responsibility of the House of Commons and the Government to try to make sure that the tax code and tax law are simple and do what is intended, but we are in a constant race, as has always been the case, against highly paid accountancy firms and the like, who design very contrived systems to avoid tax and avoid the intention of Parliament. There has been a significant development in our jurisprudence whereby the Supreme Court now takes into account the intention of Parliament, as well as the letter of the law. I think that is right, because as I say, there is sometimes a bit of an arms race in relation to the tax code, and the wishes of Parliament should be taken into account by our courts.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the agreement that he has just reached. Is it not the case that HMRC employs 26,000 investigators who work to stop tax evasion and avoidance, and that they have brought in more than £2 billion over the past six years from offshore tax avoidance? Does he agree that we should congratulate HMRC on doing the good job that its investigators are doing, and thank them for their work, and that anyone who criticises HMRC in that respect is just plain wrong?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the good work that HMRC does. It has never been popular to be a tax collector in any country at any point in history. HMRC is doing a good job in that respect. We are putting more resources in so that it can target particularly wealthy individuals who are evading tax. We now have 26,000 people employed by the Government to ensure that people comply with our tax laws.

Spending Review and Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Michael Ellis

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I said that I would listen and I have—I thought the right hon. Gentleman would welcome the fact that cuts in this Parliament under this spending review will be half what they were in the previous Parliament. Now that we are freed from the shackles of the Liberal Democrats, we can invest even more in our public services.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

Does the Chancellor of the Exchequer realise that he is becoming a hero to those who, like me, have campaigned to deal with the perennial plight of potholes on our roads? [Laughter.] That is an area of major concern to millions of people in constituencies all over the country, and by establishing a permanent pothole fund, the Chancellor is helping to deal with a signal problem.

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right. [Laughter.] Hon. Members may laugh in the Chamber when we talk about the pothole fund, but as constituency MPs, we know that the state of local roads and potholes is an issue of real concern to people. As a result of the extra investment that we are putting into our roads budget, we are able to increase the maintenance budget. We will not just build new roads; we will improve the roads we have.

Economic Policy

Debate between George Osborne and Michael Ellis

Monday 25th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We have revived the patient from the near-death experience it had under the Labour Government.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, as the Labour party has no economic policy of its own and no wish but to borrow more and more on the never-never, if the shadow Chancellor were in my right hon. Friend’s shoes, this country would be looking at default?

[Mr Osborne]

The great thing is that we, as a country, have experienced the shadow Chancellor’s economic policy, because he was the chief economic adviser to the Government. We had the biggest financial crisis in our history and the deepest recession for 100 years, and many people lost their jobs. We have had a dry run of what it would be like if he were ever allowed back.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Well, the pay comes out of the health budget, and the official policy of the Labour party is not to increase health spending in real terms. [Interruption.] This is rubbish: that is the stated position of the shadow Health Secretary; that is what he says. On pay, I want to hear from the shadow Chancellor at some point this evening whether he supports a 1% average pay rise in the next few years, because then we will know whether the complaints that the hon. Gentleman has just made have any force.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s statement. Can he confirm that, despite the quack economics cited by those on the Opposition Front Bench, the chief economist of the OECD has said not only that we are on course, but that plan A is the right plan for this country?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Michael Ellis

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of Tax Simplification.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

May I add my congratulations to the couple and say that we wish them every happiness? I am not sure that they will be particularly interested in this answer, but I hope that the House will be.

The Office of Tax Simplification was created by the coalition Government in July to reduce the complexity of a tax code that has doubled in size over the past decade. Last week, the office produced a comprehensive list of the 1,042 reliefs that now exist in the tax system. By the time of next year’s Budget, we will have received its advice on which reliefs can be simplified or abolished to be consistent with the Government’s wider objectives.

[Michael Ellis]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on establishing the Office of Tax Simplification. He will be aware that the tax system in this country is labyrinthine in its complexity, and small businesses in my constituency of Northampton North have been adversely affected by it. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that the new Office of Tax Simplification will sort out this complexity sooner rather than later?

[Mr Osborne]

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. A few months ago, he and I visited some small businesses in his constituency, many of which were suffering under the burden of a tax code that has grown from 4,900-odd pages in 1997 to 11,500 pages today. The Office of Tax Simplification is specifically looking at the taxation of small businesses as well as at the issue of tax reliefs. The small business report will be coming out later next year, but we will get an interim report in time for the Budget.