§ Mr. DiamondI beg to move Amendment No. 210, in page 130, line 15, leave out 'by any method'.
The Amendment is an attempt to meet the wishes and the consensus of the Committee. The hon. and learned Member for Northwich (Sir J. Foster) and the hon.
§
Member for Walsall, South (Sir H. d'Avigdor-Goldsmid) tabled a similar Amendment. The hon. Member for Walsall, South, asked me to remove from the Schedule provisions that encourage
the inspector of taxes to widen as far as possible the scope of this inquiries, and
encourage
him to seek the most devious means of obtaining his purposes."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, Standing Committee F, 24th June, 1969; c. 689.]
§ In an attempt to meet the spirit of the request made by the hon. Gentlemen, we have tabled the Amendment to delete "by any method". The words are superfluous. I hope that this will be taken as a tribute to the work of the Opposition.
§ Sir J. FosterI thank the Chief Secretary for that tribute. The words were difficult of philosophical interpretation. I seem to remember that the Act contained an expression like:
any method, however indirectwhich made confusion worst confounded. We are glad that the Bill has been improved to this extent. It will now read:when the capital amount … is sold or otherwise realisedwhich is what it should have been in the first place.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
Further Amendment made: No. 211, in page 130, line 35, at end insert:
as though he were the person assessed, but without prejudice to the right to recover it from the person actually assessed'.—[Mr. Diamond.]
§ Sir J. FosterI beg to move Amendment No. 293, in page 132, line 31, after 'worth', insert:
'which is calculated to depend substantially upon future activities either of the individual and another or others pursuing any profession or vocations and'.This is a useful Amendment to make it clear that the capital amount is referrable back to thefuture activities either of the individual … or others pursuing any profession or vocations".The point of Clause 25 is to try to secure that an individual who turns his future activities into capital shall be taxed. Accepting for the purpose of the present argument that the Clause secures that end, we thought that the words "capital amount" were capable of misinterpretation if they did not apply back again to the individual's activities. We tabled the Amendment in an effort, while agreeing with what the Government want to do, to secure that the shot which is sprayed by the Clause will not hit too many innocent targets.
§ Mr. DiamondI was not sure that the hon. and learned Gentleman would seek 944 to move the Amendment in the circumstances. Now that my right hon. Friend's two main Amendments—Nos. 204 and 205—have been accepted by the House, the bona fide cases, about which there was some anxiety and which it was thought previously might be caught, will be excluded and, therefore, there is no longer any need for the Amendment. I understand that there was need for it earlier, in the Opposition's view, but perhaps the hon. and learned Gentleman will now agree with me that it need not be pursued in present circumstances.
§ Sir J. FosterIn view of what the Chief Secretary has said, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.