§ Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what financial institutions based in the City of London have used offshore financial arrangements in the last three years as a smeans of avoiding liability for employers national insurance; and if he will make a statement; [R] [87710]
(2) what steps he intends to take to remove the opportunity for financial institutions based in the City of London to avoid liability for national insurance by paying their employees who work in the UK under an offshore arrangement; [R] [87711]
(3) what recent reports he has received relating to tax avoidance schemes which involve the use of offshore arrangements in the payment of employees as a vehicle for avoiding (a) tax and (b) national insurance liability. [R] [87713]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe Government are committed to closing loopholes in the tax and NICs systems, which allow some people to avoid paying their fair share, increasing the burden on others. In his pre-Budget report the Chancellor announced that he was introducing measures to counter the avoidance of tax and national insurance contributions through the use of employees benefit trusts. I cannot comment on the activities of individual companies.