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

The noble Lord says that this is not a taxation Bill, and in so far as it merely addresses the status of Members of this House, he is clearly right. But when it affects the way in which a group of individuals is taxed differently from all other individuals, surely it becomes a hybrid Bill. I leave that question in the air because it will have to be answered before Report. The simpler question, in which the noble Lord invites those who are not expert to take part, is the effect of the amendments on domiciliation and the desirability thereof. That is because the philosophy behind the Bill is that people who contribute here but live and are taxed elsewhere take away more than they bring in. But we have a number of Members of this House—we are not supposed to name individuals—who live on other continents such as America and Asia, but come here occasionally and contribute a great deal. Losing them would be a great loss to us. Has the noble Lord considered the effects in both directions on the composition of the House and the quality of the contribution of Members.