§ Mr. Moateasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government, independently or as a member of the European Economic Community, to the United States presidential working party on unitary taxation; what are the implications of the further deferment of the expected reporting date of that working party for United Kingdom policy; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Willie W. Hamiltonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to counter the unitary taxation imposed by the United States of America state governments on British and other multinational corporations; and if he will make a statement on current negotiations on the subject.
§ Mr. MooreI refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 16 January 1984 to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) which lists the representations made by the Government up to that date. Since then my right hon. Friend has had further correspondence with Secretary Regan. The chairman of the OECD Fiscal Affairs Committee wrote to Secretary Regan on the subject on 26 January. Further representations were made to Secretary Regan on 27 January by the ambassadors of the member states of the European Community, the European Commission, Australia, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. While the deferment of the final meeting of the working group is disappointing, Secretary Regan had assured me that the working group has made substantial progress and that he is making every effort to resolve the issue in the near future.