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House of Lords (Members’ Taxation Status) Bill [HL]

No. If the noble Lord were non-resident abroad, it would not change his taxation status. We are just saying that, for Members of this House, it is effectively a self-regulating Bill about how this House works. If he is not happy with that, he is able to take leave of absence. This is not something that is generated for taxation from the Commons. It is about this House taking a decision on what basis its Members should sit here, which is why I believe that this is an entirely appropriate Bill for this House. The noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, made various points, but it is fair to say that most of them referred to areas that will come up on later amendments. In particular, his points about double taxation come up in a later group and will be dealt with by my noble friend Lord Goodhart. Apart from Europe, the key point and the key aspect of the amendments tabled by the noble Viscount, Lord Astor, is to make a differentiation between domicile and residence. To me, the principle is the same. The principle, as I enunciated at the beginning, is that Members of this House pay full British taxes on all their worldwide income and capital gains. It does not matter whether you have domicile; it does not matter whether you have residence. The principle is the same. I do not think that the great majority of people in this country know or want to know the difference. They just want to know that we are all paying full British tax. Therefore, I oppose, and we will oppose on these Benches, all these amendments.