§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which clauses in the Finance Bill were altered prior to its introduction so that their wording conformed to the aims of the Tax Law Rewrite project in respect of plain language. [119423]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 17 April 2000]: Draftsmen always seek to write as clearly as possible, subject to the overriding requirements of accuracy and certainty. Where provisions in a Finance Bill amend past Finance Acts—as is often the case—the drafting has to take account of the structure and wording of the existing legislation.
In the case of the Finance Bill 2000, the draftsmen have also been able to take account of the draft legislation published by the Tax Law Rewrite Project and have, where possible, taken the Project's approach into account. Part 9 of Schedule 22 (on Tonnage Tax) is an example of this.