§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ask the Director General of Fair Trading to investigate the extent to which competition is distorted by certain United Kingdom companies being involved in transactions, the purpose of which is solely or mainly to avoid or evade taxation, with companies' trusts and individuals based in(a) the Cayman Islands, (b) the Netherlands Antilles, (c) Guernsey, (d) Jersey, (e) the Isle of Man and (f) Liechtenstein.
§ Mr. RedwoodI will consider any evidence of the distortion of competition which the hon. Member may wish to put to me. Taxation issues are however a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, rather than for me.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the case for keeping records of United Kingdom companies owned or controlled by Netherlands Antilles or Cayman Island companies in order to assist in preventing tax avoidance and evasion.
§ Mr. RedwoodAll companies registered in Great Britain, whatever their ownership, are required to file records at Companies House. These include lists of shareholders and, for subsidiary companies, identification of the ultimate holding company.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those company investigations in the last 10 years carried out by his Department where the conclusions have alleged wrong doing or fraud or illegality and the reports refer to business transactions involving companies, trusts or individuals based in(a) the Cayman Islands, (b) the Netherlands Antilles, (c) Guernsey, (d) Jersey, (e) the Isle of Man and (f) Liechtenstein.
§ Mr. RedwoodThe following published inspectors' reports contain references to business transactions involving companies, trusts or individuals based in the countries listed in the table:
Company Saint Piran Ltd Cayman Islands; Netherlands Antilles Minet Holdings plc/WMD Netherlands Antilles Underwriting agencies Ltd [interim "Unimar" report] Westminster Property Group plc Isle of Man Equity & General plc (formerly Emray plc) Jersey Milbury plc/Westminster Property Group Ltd Netherlands Antilles Summer International plc (formerly Sumrie Clothes plc) Isle of Man; Jersey For further information, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reports, copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will initiate an inquiry into the636W extent of business transactions between United Kingdom companies and companies, trusts and individuals based in (a) the Cayman Islands, (b) the Netherlands Antilles, (c) Guernsey, (d) Jersey, (e) the Isle of Man and (f) Liechtenstein in order to determine the purposes of those transactions and the degree to which those transactions are in the public interest;
(2) what proposals he has to prevent frauds or breaches of company law involving United Kingdom companies as a result of their directors, shareholders or other interested parties (a) creating transactions between those companies or (b) controlling some or all of their share capital through companies, trusts or individuals based in (i) the Cayman Islands, (ii) the Netherlands Antilles, (iii) Guernsey, (iv) Jersey, (v) the Isle of Man and (vi) Liechtenstein.
§ Mr. RedwoodThere are no plans for special treatment of companies owned by, or trading with, such companies, trusts or individuals. There is a system of enforcement already in place to deal with frauds and breaches of company law. The Companies Act requires notification, in the annual accounts, of any ultimate holding company and its location, and for large companies, a breakdown of turnover by geographical area, where material. This information is available from Companies House, on a company-by-company basis.