Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 19 Mar 2025 Finance Bill
"My Lords, it is an honour and a pleasure to follow the excellent maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Caine. It must have been a special delight for her to highlight the importance of the creative industries on the day that the Government announced the creation of a national …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, I am afraid that I regard this amendment, although obviously achieving consistency with treatment in Scotland as well as in the rest of the United Kingdom, as just another of the irresponsible measures we have seen from Opposition Benches. One will have noticed very clearly that there are …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, I find some difficulty in addressing this group of amendments, specifically because these amendments are but a part of 38—out of the total of 44—amendments in the Marshalled List that are essentially all the same. The 38 amendments all propose exemptions to the changes proposed in the Bill, …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, the amendments proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, are a classic example of how to distort a market. She wishes not only to exempt part-time employees from the measures in the Bill but to reduce the national insurance charge on part-time employees. She does not appear to …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, Amendment 38, as written, is econometrically impossible. This cannot be done unless we have further specification of what is to be done. For example, are we to look at the effect of these changes assuming that the Budget had not changed or to look at their effect taking …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, with respect to all the amendments in this group, with the exception of that of the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, I repeat what I said last time: these amendments are designed to increase the complexity of the system and that is a very bad idea. I can assure …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"My Lords, in principle, the growth problem is straightforward: invest in the quality of labour via education and training, and in the quality of capital via research and development and innovation. On the one hand, the state is the main investor in education and skills and plays a crucial role …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"When the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, raised the issue of our meeting in Grand Committee—when the proposal was being discussed—and argued that votes could not be taken, I intervened and said that he was incorrect because I had won a vote in a Grand Committee many years ago. After a …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
I turn to the amendment. One of the major failings of the UK tax system is its complexity. That complexity is a major source of tax avoidance—that is, the use of legal loopholes, often in ways totally unintended by the policymaker—to avoid tax. The real problem …..." Lord Eatwell - View Speech
"I agree, but adding more exemptions is adding to the pile. What we desperately need is a reform of our tax system that removes exemptions and forces Governments to make policy by deciding which goods and services they are going to subsidise...." Lord Eatwell - View Speech