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Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Bill

Of course, I entirely accept what the noble Baroness says about the nature of this piece of research, but I invite noble Lords to consider what the noble Baroness would have made of it had the table been inverted and had the British figures been the worst. I do not have the slightest doubt that, in those circumstances and with such a significant source as the World Bank, she would have berated me with the figures—so she will not mind if I take some delight in quoting them. I note also that while the other great promise of the Opposition is always that they are desperately concerned to get rid of red tape and reduce bureaucracy, here is another piece of bureaucracy that they propose to establish, which will no doubt appear in their manifesto—an office of tax simplification, with its sole focus on simplifying the tax system. That is an additional layer of bureaucracy and also an extra cost—but the noble Baroness will discount that as a jaundiced view of Conservative plans from this side of the House. However, we note that there is no simple answer even to the issue of simplification, apart from that proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Newby. His concept of a measure on tax avoidance is a coat that he has trailed on a number of occasions. The general view is that the concept is much easier to express than to deliver. Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.