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Tax Avoidance and Evasion

As the hon. Gentleman knows, my knowledge of the Sudan is better than that of any other African country. When the government of southern Sudan were setting up their administration, the British Government paid for a number of people—admittedly from the private sector—to go in to help them set up their tax system. Without such a system, southern Sudan had no mechanism to raise revenue. The hon. Gentleman was right to draw attention to the matter but, to be fair, the British Government have a history of trying to help.