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Finance Bill

It is clearly a point of consensus that we want to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and that that is in the national interest. I think that we also agree, however, that there are complex and difficult issues that have been resolved neither by Members of this House nor by experts. We have been taking expert submissions and advice, and as of today’s debate there has been no satisfactory final resolution to ensure that the legislation that we introduce will achieve the objectives that we want from a reform of REITs. That is the position. I have been open and up front about the process of tackling the REITs issue. We need to make progress as quickly as possible, but the Government are often admonished for rushing through legislation that leads to unintended consequences.