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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I want to deal with the point about the private sector. If the hon. Gentleman can stay in his seat for long enough, he might find that I am going to deal with his question. Section 29 of the 2004 Act, which is amended by clause 99, applies to accounting entries made for accounting periods during which a company is publicly owned. Where a company is sold during an accounting period, section 29 treats the end of the public ownership as the end of the accounting period. Section 29 does not, therefore, apply to accounting entries made for accounting periods during which the company is in the private sector. At that point, the normal tax rules would apply to that company. Section 29 applies only to public sector companies. I hope that I have clarified that.