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

Perhaps I may correct the noble Lord. I am afraid that he is wrong on the difference between domiciliary status and residency, with particular reference to many of the Commonwealth countries—Australia, New Zealand and other areas—where there is no double taxation agreement. While it may be said that someone is a Member of this House who was not a British national to begin with and became one later, his domicile may well be his country of origin. Within that, there may be differences between estate duty and capital gains, which do not exist in others. I do not object at all to the principle that people who are elected to Parliament or who are in Parliament should pay tax. I believe that the same application should be made to all those 103,000 people who are elected representatives and to anyone who holds a government job in the United Kingdom, whatever their nationality and origin. I am not speaking just about Northern Rock, but about many government appointments where people come here from abroad, do not pay tax in the United Kingdom and, therefore, have a much higher net income than their British equivalents. If you ask, as I have done, many headhunters about the situation for people who want to come to work in the United Kingdom, they say that, because it is not clear, people are turning down jobs. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, has said exactly what I had hoped that he would say. The Government will stick to their last and there will be no changes in the tax law in this respect until after the next Government or Parliament. We should not forget people who go on to contracts—often they may have a five-year or a three-year contract. What I am talking about might be described at one level or another as arbitrage. Sometimes people will be paid in one currency and not in another. Is there a capital gains tax when the euro, if you are paid in it, comes at a higher level? These are serious issues and the accountancy profession is really looking forward to this. As noble Lords know, the charge for matters on this by the senior partner is £1,000 an hour to lay on hands; £500 an hour for the next one; and the girl in the striped skirt—who is really switched on and does the work—is paid a lesser amount. The accountancy bills for this are horrendous. There is an uncertainty which the Government may be able to clear at a later date. I believe that the noble Lord is saying, ““Yes, let the Liberals go ahead and have their fun. It will not become law and we will be dealing with things at a later date””. I still believe that all this should have gone through a committee of both Houses, but I appreciate the determination shown by the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott.