Member

I welcome the steps that the Government have already taken to strengthen enforcement against dishonest tax advisers by introducing new penalties—some £1.7 billion has been committed to strengthening the work of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs—but might I gently suggest to the Minister that he could be going yet a little further? As he begins to think about the next Budget, let me point him towards some literature that I hope he will find useful. The all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, which I chair, has produced a report entitled “Clean Foundations for Growth”. I have a copy here in case he has lost his own. There is plenty in there, but I will highlight just two asks that are relevant to new clause 4, which was discussed slightly earlier. First, tax advisers and accountants should also be signed up as members of a professional body. Secondly, professionals whose membership has been revoked for tax fraud should no longer be able to operate. Those who design or enable abuse of the system should not be able simply to reinvent themselves under a new letterhead, and continue as before.