Amendments proposed to the Finance Bill - continued	House of Commons
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Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

442

Clause     144,     page     112,     line     1,     leave out subsection (4).

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Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

443

Schedule     39,     page     542,     line     41,     leave out from 'section' to end of line 42.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

444

Schedule     39,     page     543,     line     8,     leave out sub-paragraph (2) and insert 'provisions shall be made by rules of court as to the notice to be give, the contents of the notice and the manner of giving it'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

445

Schedule     39,     page     543,     line     47,     leave out from 'proceedings' to end of line 5 on page 544 and insert 'being communications which would in legal proceedings be protected from disclosure by virtue of any rule of law relating to the confidentality of communications.

    ( ) subsection ( ) does not apply in relation to any information or other matter which is disclosed with a view to furthering a criminal purpose.'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

467

Schedule     39,     page     544,     line     5,     at end insert 'For the avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of this paragraph only, communications between a professional adviser and his client or any person representing his client made in connection with the giving of advice to his client in relation to his liability to any tax or duty, or any items enclosed with or referred to in such communications, shall (subject always to sub-paragraph (3) below) be treated as items subject to legal privilege.'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

446

Schedule     39,     page     544,     line     6,     leave out paragraph 5(3).

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

447

Schedule     39,     page     544,     line     9,     leave out paragraph (6) and insert—

    '6(1) If there is a dispute as to whether a document, or part of a document, is an item subject to legal privilege, the matter will be referred to the appropriate judicial authority for determination.

    (2) Provision shall be made by way of regulation as to—

(a) the custody of the document whilst its status is being decided;

(b) procedures to be followed;

(c) who is to meet the costs of the proceedings.'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

448

Schedule     39,     page     544,     line     37,     leave out paragraph (9) and insert—

    '( ) If a person, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with an order made under section 20BA, he is guilty of an offence.

    ( ) A person guilty of an offence under subsection 1 above shall be liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine or to both; and

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

449

Schedule     39,     page     545,     line     2,     leave out paragraph (10).

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Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

450

Clause     145,     page     112,     line     33,     leave out from the first 'and' to end of line 40 and insert 'being communications which would in legal proceedings be protected from disclosure by virtue of any rule of law relating to the confidentiality of communications.

    ( ) Sub-section ( ) does not apply in relation to any information or other matter which is disclosed with a view to furthering a criminal purpose'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

453

Clause     145,     page     112,     line     40,     after 'them.', insert 'For the avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of this section only, communications between a professional adviser and his client or any person representing his client made in connection with the giving of advice to his client in relation to his liability to any tax or duty, or any items enclosed with or referred to in such communications, shall (subject always to subsection (4B) below) be treated as items to legal privilege.'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

451

Clause     145,     page     112,     leave out lines 41 and 42.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

452

Clause     145,     page     112,     line     43,     leave out subsection (5).

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Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

454

Clause     149,     page     114,     line     40,     leave out from 'in' to 'accounts' in line 41 and insert 'accordance with generally accepted principles of accounting'.

   

Mr David Heathcoat-Amory
Mr Richard Ottaway
Mr Howard Flight [R]

455

Clause     149,     page     114,     line     43,     leave out from beginning to end of line 7 on page 115 and insert—

    '(2) Following the relevant account date and no later than the relevant publication date the following steps are to take place:

(a) the Treasury shall send the accounts to the Comptroller and Auditor General;

(b) the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify the accounts, issue a report on them and return the certified accounts and report to the Treasury; and

(c) the Treasury shall lay the certified accounts and the report before each House of Parliament.

    (3) In subsection (2) above "the relevant account date" is the last day of the financial year to which the accounts in question relate and the "relevant publication date" is the date by which a company would be required to file its accounts with Companies House in respect of an accounting period which ended on the relevant account date.

    (4) The Treasury shall also publish the certified accounts and report in an electronic form capable of access by members of the public.'.

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NEW CLAUSE

Offence of fraudulent evasion of income tax

   

Mr Andrew Smith

NC3

*To move the following Clause:—

    '.—(1) A person commits an offence if he is knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of income tax by him or any other person.

    (2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven year or a fine, or both.

    (3) This section applies to things done or omitted on or after 1st January 2001.'.

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Further provisions about share options

   

Mr Andrew Smith

NC4

*To move the following new Clause:—

    '.—(1) In Chapter IV of Part V of the Taxes Act 1988 (provisions relating to the Schedule E charge: other exemptions and reliefs), after section 187 insert—

"Contributions in respect of share option gains

Relief for contributions in respect of share option gains.

187A.—(1) Where a person ("the earner") is chargeable to tax under section 135 on a gain, relief is available under this section if— (a) an agreement has been entered into allowing the secondary contributor to recover from the earner the whole or part of any secondary Class 1 contributions in respect of the gain, or (b) an election is in force which has the effect of transferring to the earner the whole or part of the liability to pay secondary Class 1 contributions in respect of the gain.     (2) The amount of the relief is the total of— (a) any amount that, in pursuance of any such agreement as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a), is recovered in respect of the gain by the secondary contributor not later than 60 days after the end of the year of assessment in which occurred the event giving rise to the charge to tax under section 135; and (b) the amount of any liability in respect of that gain that, by virtue of any such election as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b), has become the earner's liability.     (3) Where notice of withdrawal of approval of any such election is given, relief under subsection (2)(b) is limited to so much of the earner's liability in respect of the gain as is met before the end of the 60th day after the end of the year of assessment in which occurred the event giving rise to the charge under section 135.     (4) Relief under this section shall be given by way of deduction from the amount of the gain on which the earner is chargeable to tax under section 135.     (5) Any such deduction does not affect the amount of the gain for the purposes of— (a) section 120(4) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (amount treated as consideration for acquisition of shares), or (b) section 4(4)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (amount treated as remuneration for contributions purposes).     (6) The agreements and elections referred to in this section are those having effect under paragraph 3A or 3B of Schedule 1 to the Contributions and Benefits Act.     References to approval in relation to an election are to approval by the Inland Revenue under paragraph 3B of that Schedule.     (7) In this section— 'the Contributions and Benefits Act' means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992; and 'secondary Class 1 contributions' and 'secondary contributor' have the same meaning as in that Act.".

    Section 187A inserted by this subsection applies to any agreement or election having effect as mentioned in subsection (6) of that section, whether made before or after the passing of this Act.

    (2) Section 203FB of the Taxes Act 1988 (PAYE: gains from share options) is amended as follows—

(a) in subsections (2) and (3), for "subsection (7)" substitute "subsection (6A)";

(b) after subsection (6) insert—

    "(6A) Where section 203F has effect in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) above, subsection (3) of section 203F shall apply as if the reference in that subsection to the amount of income likely to be chargeable to tax under Schedule E in respect of the provision of the asset were a reference to the amount on which tax is likely to be chargeable by virtue of section 135 in respect of the event in question, reduced by the amount of any relief likely to be available under section 187A.";

(c) in subsection (7) for "any of the preceding provisions of this section" substitute "subsection (4) or (5) above" and for "section 135, 140A or 140D" substitute "section 140A or 140D".

    These amendments apply where the event giving rise to the charge to tax occurs after the passing of this Act.

    (3) In section 136(6) of the Taxes Act 1988 and section 85(1) of the Finance Act 1988 (duty to deliver particulars relating to share options, etc. within 30 days after end of year of assessment), for "30 days" substitute "92 days".

    These amendments apply where the event giving rise to the duty to deliver particulars occurs on or after 6th April 2000.

    (4) After section 136(6) of the Taxes Act 1988 add—

    "(7) A body corporate is not obliged to deliver particulars under subsection (6) above which it has already given in a notice under paragraph 2 of Schedule 14 to the Finance Act 2000 (enterprise management incentives: notice required for option to be qualifying option).

    In other respects the obligations imposed by that subsection and that paragraph are independent of each other.

    (8) The duty of a body corporate under subsection (6) above to deliver particulars of any matter includes a duty to deliver particulars of any secondary Class 1 contributions payable in connection with that matter that—

(a) are recovered as mentioned in section 187A(2)(a), or
(b) are met as mentioned in section 187A(3).

    In this subsection 'secondary Class 1 contributions' has the same meaning as in section 187A.".

    Section 136(8) inserted by this subsection applies to any amounts recovered or met as mentioned in section 187A(2)(a) or (3) of the Taxes Act 1988, whether before or after the passing of this Act.'.

Prepared 27 Jun 2000