§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Chancellor of the Excheqeuer what steps have been taken by him since 1974 to close loopholes in taxation legislation that have allowed unintended tax avoidance to take place; how much revenue per annum has been saved by these changes; and what is his estimate of the current annual loss to the Treasury resulting from the exploitation of unintended loopholes in taxation legislation.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonMy right hon. Friend has introduced a number of Finance Bill provisions to counter tax avoidance and will continue to do so whenever necessary. Considerable amounts of tax can be at stake, but in the nature of things it is impossible to put a figure either on what would have been lost had legislation not been enacted or on any continuing exploitation of the tax system.