Paul Flynn
Main Page: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)Department Debates - View all Paul Flynn's debates with the HM Treasury
(12 years, 10 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Danny Alexander
My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is precisely the complexity of the tax system that creates some of the opportunities of which many people take advantage. That is why we have created the Office of Tax Simplification, which continually makes recommendations for ways in which we could simplify the tax system and tackle some of the avoidance schemes. The very complicated tax arrangements that we inherited are gradually being changed by this process, which is in the best interests of the country.
Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)
Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury be the first Minister to accept responsibility for the conduct of the coalition in creating an “ineptocracy” of greed?
Danny Alexander
I am not quite sure how that relates to the question on the Order Paper today. I do not accept that description of what the coalition is doing. We are cleaning up the terrible economic mess that we inherited from Labour, and we are doing so in a way that is fair and that asks those with broader shoulders to bear the greater share of the burden. Frankly, if the hon. Gentleman’s party had not made such a mess, the country would not be in this position.