§ Mr. Parry asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many current valid 714 tax certificates are held at the latest available date according to Inland Revenue records;
§ (2) if he will call for a public inquiry into the operation of 714 tax certificates;
§ (3) if he is satisfied with the present system of the issue of 714 tax certificates; and if he will make a statement;
§ (4) how many prosecutions have been made for fraud in cases involving 714 tax exemption vouchers in England and Wales at the latest available date.
§ Mr. MooreThere are 492,880 valid 714 certificates currently in issue.
I have no plans to call for a public inquiry into the operation of the scheme.
The 714 tax certificates are an integral part of the construction industry tax deduction scheme. Significant improvements have been made to the system of issue of certificates and I am satisfied with the present arrangements.
Since April 1977, when the present scheme came into operation, the Inland Revenue has prosecuted 862 cases in England and Wales involving subcontractor exemption certificate frauds and obtained 817 convictions. In the same period a further 119 convictions were obtained by the police for the United Kingdom as a whole. It is not possible to say how many of those 119 police convictions relate to England and Wales.