§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the past financial years the amount declared to tax in respect of income from abroad as provided for in notes 41, 45 and 46 of the "Tax Return Guide 1981–82"; and whether he is satisfied that United Kingdom residents with assets abroad are not evading taxation on the income derived from such assets.
§ Mr. RidleyI regret that the information requested cannot be supplied except at disproportionate cost.
The Inland Revenue makes every effort to detect tax evasion and is constantly seeking ways of improving its techniques of combating it. In the case of income from abroad it is able to obtain assistance from other tax Administrations through the United Kingdom's extensive network of double taxation agreements which provide for exchange of information between the contracting parties.