Written question asked by Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party) on Wednesday, 22 May 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 June 2002. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Monday, 10 June 2002 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the various rates of taxation for gas pipelines within the United Kingdom and on the rationale for the differences.

Answer: Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the various rates of taxation for gas pipelines within the United Kingdom and on the rationale for the differences. [58896] Dawn Primarolo: Since the special taxation regime for UK oil and gas was introduced in the 1970s, oil and gas pipelines associated with particular fields have received the same tax treatment as the fields themselves. This reflects the fact that the pipelines are an integral part of the overall development of the fields concerned. Because the tax regime that applies to a field, and therefore its associated pipelines, depends on the date on which the filed was given development consent, pipelines associated with different fields can have different tax treatments.

Secondary information