Tax Law Rewrite (Hansard, 31 January 2002)

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received relating to the Tax Law Rewrite Project. [31628]

§ Dawn Primarolo
I am pleased to say the work of the Tax Law Rewrite Project continues to enjoy widespread support. In particular, the project's first Bill, on capital allowances, which received Royal Assent last March, has been well received by the tax community as a great improvement in clarity and accessibility.

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pages of tax law have been published since the inception of the Tax Law Rewrite Project; and of that number, how many have been drafted as part of the Tax Rewrite Project. [31625]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The Tax Law Rewrite Project began work in 1997 on rewriting direct tax legislation. Since that time approximately 2000 pages of Finance Act legislation has been enacted, covering both direct and indirect taxes, some of which incorporate the rewrite approach. In addition, the project's first Bill, on capital allowances, which received Royal Assent last March, runs to 333 pages. The aim is that the project's second Bill, concerning employment, pension and social security income, will be published in draft later this year.

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pages of tax law were in existence following the Finance Acts of(a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) 2000; and what the projected total is for (i) 2010, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2030. [31624]

§ Dawn Primarolo
Tax law is enacted in annual Finance Acts. Periodically, consolidated acts are also prepared. Copies of Finance Acts and consolidated acts are available in the Library of the House.

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary draftsmen are employed on the Tax Law Rewrite Project; how many are on secondment from other Government departments; and what the standard period of secondment is. [31626]

§ Dawn Primarolo
There are currently six parliamentary draftsmen on secondment to the Tax Law Rewrite Project. The usual period of secondment is around two years. There are currently no draftsmen on secondment to the project from other Government Departments.
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§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel; on average how many are employed to deal with tax matters; and how many are trained in the Tax Rewrite Project. [31623]

§ Dawn Primarolo
I understand that there are 43 draftsmen employed in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and 21 administrative staff. Draftsmen are trained to be able to work on Bills covering any area, not specifically tax matters. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has a total of 10 draftsmen with experience of working for the Tax Law Rewrite Project.

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have for(a) simplifying tax law and (b) reducing the volume of tax law. [31627]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The information is as follows:

(a) The Government keep the whole tax system under review, acting where possible to change tax rules to minimise burdens on business while still meeting the Government's objectives for a fair and efficient tax system. We are currently consulting on a number of measures to simplify and modernise the tax system.

(b) Simply focusing on the volume of legislation is misguided—the length of legislation is not directly related to complexity. Where we introduce new regulations we offer business and individuals practical help and support and have already introduced a substantial package of measures to help businesses, particularly small businesses, deal with Government.

§ Mr. Salmond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what time scale was originally set for the Tax Law Rewrite Project; and if this time scale will be met. [31622]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The original estimate was that it would take about five years to rewrite the main primary legislation on direct tax. However, as the work of the project progressed, it became clear that it would take longer to do the job to the necessary standard, and there is general agreement that it is more important for the work to be done properly rather than quickly.