§ Mr. Nicholas Bakerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has completed the review of the fiscal aspects of the workings of the demerger provisions 250W forecast during the passage of the Finance Bill 1980; and if he has received representations about the effectiveness of operation of the fiscal provisions.
§ Mr. MooreThe provisions in section 117 and schedule 18 of the Finance Act 1980 are kept under review to ensure that they meet the purpose for which they were designed — the removal of the main fiscal obstacles when two or more trading businesses grouped together demerge and pursue their own ways under independent management.
While a number of suggestions have been made for extending the scope of the legislation, there is no evidence that the rules are not working as we intended.