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Tax Avoidance and Evasion

If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I will not give way because I have precisely two minutes in which to address the other points that he made. HMRC will continue to work closely with other jurisdictions through the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Centre and other international groups to combat avoidance and global tax risks. HMRC deals with all information that is received on a resource-to-risk basis. I cannot comment on individual cases, but it is important to understand the operating efficiencies that have been made by HMRC in recent years. We are also building a better evidence base to underpin our work. The Secretary of State for International Development has commissioned detailed research on the impact of tax evasion on developing countries and the interim review is expected imminently. Between 2001 and 2006, the Department for International Development undertook 101 tax-related projects to support developing countries in improving their tax systems. We are doing a lot with developing countries, not just Sudan, and I could give many further examples of the action we are taking. We are working through the African tax administration forum to share experiences on policy and process.