§ 57 and 58. Mr. Harold Walkerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will take steps to institute an inquiry into tax avoidance arising from Stock Exchange transactions;
(2) what action he proposes to prevent any further incidence of tax avoidance by bond-washing; and if he will make a statement.
§ 60. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he intends to take to prevent further evasion of the law in regard to the practice of bond washing.
§ 65. Mr. Sheldonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he will take to recover taxation wrongly remitted in recent cases of bond washing; what was the amount involved; and how he proposes to prevent this happening in future.
§ Mr. Derek Pageasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps he proposes to take to prevent tax avoidance in Government bond dealings;
(2) what steps he will take to recover the revenue lost following the recent bond-washing operations which resulted in the suspension of members of the Stock Exchange.
§ Mr. CallaghanI am obliged to the Stock Exchange Council for sending to the Board of Inland Revenue a copy of the Report which led to the suspension of certain jobbers and brokers. I hope the action taken by the Council will lead to closer observation of the existing rules.
Nevertheless, I am considering whether there is sufficient guarantee that the Revenue is guarded against loss, and if necessary I shall bring forward further legislation.
The deals in question disclose the possibility of tax irregularities; and the Board of Inland Revenue have begun a comprehensive inquiry into the position of firms and individuals whether inside or outside 200W the Stock Exchange who have played any part in these or similar transactions.
It will be sometime before I can estimate how much tax has been lost and say what action can be taken to recover it.