§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications for(a) the Channel Islands and (b) the Isle of Man of the report of the Primarolo Group to the ECOFIN Council on 29 November 1999; what plans he has to implement the report's recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [117987]
§ Mr. StrawThe Report of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation lists 66 tax measures in European Union member states and their dependent or associated territories which are considered to have harmful features. Fifteen of these are in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The United Kingdom is committed to encouraging its dependencies to tackle unfair tax competition. The Code of Conduct on which the Group's work has been based is a voluntary non-legally binding agreement. We would expect to discuss the Report with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.