House of Commons portcullis
House of Commons
Session 2010 - 11
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament


 
 

Committee of the whole House: 12 July 2010              

37

 

Finance Bill, continued

 
 

(3)    

The Office for Tax Responsibility shall be managed by the Director for Tax

 

Responsibility who shall be supported in their work by no fewer than two and no

 

more than four Commissioners for Tax Responsibility who shall, with the

 

Director of Tax Responsibility, constitute the Board of the Office for Tax

 

Responsibility.

 

(4)    

The Office for Tax Responsibility shall—

 

(a)    

be afforded such budget as shall be required for it to undertake its duties

 

as laid down in this Act;

 

(b)    

be given the right to access all such information held by such other

 

government departments, agencies, local authorities and authorities

 

established under statute as it in its sole discretion shall determine is

 

required to fulfil its duties laid down in this Act subject to the sole

 

requirement that all obligations to respect the confidentiality of those

 

with whom those such other agents of government engage shall also be

 

assumed by the Office for Tax Responsibility when using data those

 

agents of government shall supply to the Office for Tax Responsibility

 

for the purpose of undertaking its duties;

 

(c)    

engage such staff (including the Director and Commissioners) as it needs

 

to fulfil its duties, such staff not to be seconded from other government

 

departments, agencies, local authorities or authorities established under

 

such statute and such staff not to be seconded to it by any entity registered

 

at the time such secondment shall take place as a tax agent by HMRC.

 

(5)    

The Office for Tax Responsibility shall report annually on—

 

(a)    

its best estimate of the United Kingdom tax gap. In so doing it shall—

 

(i)    

calculate the tax gap separately for each of income tax, national

 

insurance in all its forms, corporation tax, value added tax, excise

 

and customs duties in all their forms, stamp duty in all its forms,

 

capital gains tax, inheritance tax, petroleum revenue tax, landfill

 

tax, air passenger duty, insurance premium tax, climate change

 

levy, aggregates levy, domestic rates and business rates, but with

 

specific requirement being made that the interaction of the tax

 

gap calculated for any one tax be specifically considered when

 

estimating the tax gap for any other tax before preparing and

 

publishing an estimate of the total annual United Kingdom tax

 

gap;

 

(ii)    

use a methodology for calculating the tax gap that estimates the

 

net theoretical tax liability for the particular tax subject to

 

calculation within the United Kingdom economy as a whole

 

from which is then subtracted the acutal receipts for the tax in

 

question to produce an estimate of the annual tax gap for the tax

 

subject to calculation;

 

(iii)    

analyse the tax gap with regard to each tax between that

 

attributable to tax evasion, tax avoidance and unpaid or late paid

 

tax;

 

(iv)    

publish its methodology and workings with regard to the

 

calculation of each component of the tax gap subject only to

 

withholding such information as is required to prevent any

 

breach of taxpayer confidentiality;

 

(b)    

progress made by HMRC in closing the tax gap;

 

(c)    

the methods it proposes HMRC and other agencies, if appropriate, should

 

adopt better to tackle the tax gap;

 

(d)    

those legislative changes required, in its opinion, to close the tax gap;

 

(e)    

the budget resources that in its opinion HMRC and those other agencies

 

addressing that issue will require to address the tax gap it identifies;


 
 

Committee of the whole House: 12 July 2010              

38

 

Finance Bill, continued

 
 

(f)    

its forecast of the taxation and other benefits that might arise from

 

allocating such resources for the purpose identified in paragraph (e)

 

above: other benefits for this purpose to include all those social benefits

 

resulting from tackling the tax gap.

 

(6)    

The Office for Tax Responsibility shall engage with those persons who wish to

 

make representations on matters relating to the tax gap so that those persons’

 

concerns and expectations for the closing of that tax gap are reflected in the work

 

of the Office for Tax Responsibility.’.

 


 
previous section contents
 
House of Commons home page Houses of Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries

© Parliamentary copyright 2010
Revised 12 July 2010