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Finance Bill

I am not convinced by the Financial Secretary's response to the debate. He talks about what we are considering being an appropriate measure of fiscal consolidation that will raise £40 million in the first year. This is in the context, of course, of a budget deficit of £175 billion. I asked him about the monetary amount of the systems error that he prayed in aid in respect of this measure, but he did not know how much that was going to be. I worked out, not in a systematic way but on the back of a notional fag packet, that the amount involved per business covered by this measure would be £30,000 to £40,000, which is not a material sum. I am just not persuaded yet that the Financial Secretary has made a case as to why we should impose this legislation on large businesses, notwithstanding the welcome concession that he has made in restricting the number of businesses to which it will apply. Why would this measure be imposed without any real work having been done by the Government on the costs that businesses will incur as a consequence of its introduction? The hon. Member for Coventry, North-West (Mr. Robinson) takes a very bullish view on consultation, and it is important that we get tax legislation right. The Financial Secretary has accepted that there will be amendments in Committee, and I welcome that. However, there are examples of legislation that has been rammed through quickly and which we have had to come back to in successive years to get right, and I just do not think that the Government have taken sufficient care over this measure to warrant its introduction when this Bill receives its Royal Assent some time in July. More work needs to be done by the Government to get this right, and to understand issues associated with materiality, who the senior accounting officer will be and the application of this measure. It is right to delay implementation by a year, so that the Government get it right and do not impose an unnecessary cost on business without a firm grip on the benefits that this is due to bring. I therefore ask my hon. Friends to support amendment 4. Question put, That the amendment be made. The Committee divided: Ayes 154, Noes 285.