§ MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS OF INCOME
TAX AND CORPORATION TAX LAW
§ Question proposed, That the Clause stand part of the Bill.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThis Clause and Schedule 4 are par excellence the sort of provisions to which, if this were an ordinary Finance Bill, one would like to devote some time in discussion.
I have a purely drafting comment of which the Government might like to take note with the possibility of dealing with it when we reach the Report stage. Clause 20 refers in brackets to
amendments of the Taxes Act and of the Capital Allowances Actbut it does not refer to the Taxes Management Act. Yet in Part I of Schedule 4 there are quite a number of amendments of the Taxes Management Act, 1970.I appreciate that, compared to the Income Tax Act and the Corporation Tax Act 1970 the Taxes Management Act, 1970 is very much smaller and it may have escaped the notice of the draftsmen, but if Clause 20 with reference to Schedule 4 refers to the Taxes Act and the Capital Allowances Act it seems that it should equally refer to the Taxes Management Act.
This is purely a matter of drafting. There is no substance in it, but no doubt the Government would like to give consideration to this point. I do not know whether a manuscript Amendment would be acceptable on Report, but if one were moved by the Government it would be acceptable to us.
§ Mr. DiamondI will consider this. The phrase I was given was de minimus, but I do not wish the hon. Member for 1866 Wanstead and Woodford (Mr. Patrick Jenkin) to think that I am not paying attention to his valuable comments. If necessary, we will seek to move a manuscript Amendment, but I doubt whether that will be necessary.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Clause 20 ordered to stand part of the Bill.