HC Deb 25 July 1977 vol 936 cc174-5
Mr. Joel Barnett

I beg to move Amendment No. 25, in page 19, line 29, leave out from been ' to end of line 37 and insert— 'necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the overseas employment expenses of the employee in travelling from the United Kingdom to take up the overseas employment and in returning to the United Kingdom on its termination;'

Mr. Deputy Speaker

We may take at the same time Government Amendment No. 26.

Mr. Barnett

These amendments also fulfil an undertaking which I gave in Committee.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made: No. 26, in page 19, line 38, leave out 'paragraph (a) or (b)' and insert 'this subsection'

No. 27, in page 20, line 12, at end insert— '(3A) Subsection (3B) below applies where a person resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom—

  1. (a) holds two or more offices or employments the duties of one or more of which are performed wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom; and
  2. (b) travels from one place having performed there duties of one office or employment from to another place for the purpose of performing duties of another office or employment (the emoluments from which are not foreign emoluments within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Schedule E),
and either or both of those places is outside the United Kingdom. (3B) For the purposes of section 189(1) of the Taxes Act (deduction for certain expenses) expenses incurred by such a person on such travel shall be treated as having been necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties which he is to perform at his destination; and if travel is partly for the purpose of performing those duties and partly for another purpose this subsection applies only to such part of the expenses as is properly attributable to the former purpose.'—[Mr. Joel Barnett.]

Amendment proposed: No. 28, in page 20, line 16, leave out from 'and' to end of line 23 and insert— 'applies to travel of the following descriptions between the United Kingdom and the place of performance of those duties, that is to say—

  1. (a) any journey by his spouse or any child of his—
    1. (i) accompanying him at the beginning of the period of absence; or
    2. (ii) to visit him during that period;
  2. (b) any journey by him at the end of that period to visit his spouse or any child of his;
  3. (c) any return journey following a journey of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b) above;
but that subsection does not extend to more than two journeys in each direction by the same person in any year of assessment.'—[Mr. Joel Barnett.]

Mr. David Howell

The House is being taken through these amendments at a rattling pace, and that, no doubt, is welcome to very nearly all those concerned, but there are one or two matters to which attention should be directed.

Am I right in thinking that this amendment was brought forward to deal with the question of a family visiting an overseas employee? I believe that we argued in Committee that there was a case for further relief in such a situation, and I recall that the Chief Secretary—or perhaps the Financial Secretary—undertook to bring forward amendments accordingly. Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that this is the amendment which I have in mind?

Mr. Joel Barnett

Yes. The hon. Gentleman is quite right.

Amendment agreed to.

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