Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I should point out that those units were not in existence under the previous Government and were introduced as a consequence of our reinvestment programme. On enforcement and compliance more generally, I also point out that if we are looking only at numbers, under the previous Government the number of people working in HMRC’s enforcement and compliance department fell by 10,000. Under this Government it will increase by 2,500.

[Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

The managing partner of Ernst & Young has dismissed the concerns of the House about aggressive tax avoidance by stating:

“The simplest solution is to stop banging on about morality and change the law.”

Does the Minister share my view that in a civilised society we do not live by rules and regulations alone, but by what we consider to be right? Should not boards of companies that operate in this country be asking themselves a key question about all their activities, including their tax policy: is this the right thing to do?

[Mr Gauke]

Increasingly, artificial contrived behaviour is something that all of us, including the public, simply do not accept. My hon. Friend is right to say that this is a board matter, and boards should take tax policy seriously. Companies should think very seriously about aggressive, artificial, contrived behaviour and there is low tolerance for such behaviour.