Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Swales Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I am not going to comment on individual cases, but as I have said, there are a number of protections in the UK system to stop abuse in this area. We have strengthened the capacity of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and it is also worth pointing out that the UK has led the way in the OECD’s work on base erosion and profit shifting, which is also looking at interest deductibility.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

The previous Government left a system that encourages offshore ownership of UK business, with highly geared structures and foreign interest rates as high as 16%. Many countries limit allowable foreign interest deductions; will the UK look at doing the same?

[Mr Gauke]

Of course, we keep all these matters under review, but as I mentioned a moment ago, there are a number of protections in the UK tax system. However, we continue to monitor this area.