HC Deb 01 April 2004 vol 419 cc1697-8W
Mr. McFall

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is regarded by his Department as(a) legitimate and (b) illegitimate avoidance of tax. [161858]

Dawn Primarolo

The Government take steps to close down tax avoidance schemes as they become aware of them, particularly where they create economic distortions, provide commercial advantages over compliant taxpayers, redistribute tax revenues in an unfair and arbitrary manner, or represent an abuse that conflicts with or defeats the will of Parliament.

Mr. McFall

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department has taken to establish best practice in international approaches to tackling tax avoidance. [161859]

Dawn Primarolo

The UK has a long, and well-established, history of working with other countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, on a range of tax issues. We are leading participants in a number of international tax fora and continue to share experience and best practice in international approaches to tackling tax avoidance.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax that should have been paid is outstanding from each of the last five financial years. [R][149812]

Dawn Primarolo

Reliable information is not available in the form requested. I refer the hon. Member to the NAO report, "The Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue", published on 24 March 2004.

Lynne Jones

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2004,Official Report, column 122W, on tax credits, what proportion of the expected £300 million per annum overhead costs of administering the child and working tax credits will be paid to private contractors. [163691]

Dawn Primarolo

The Inland Revenue paid £107 million (excluding VAT and payments in respect of capital purchases) to private contractors during the financial year 2002–03 for the delivery of the tax credits programme. The equivalent figure for the financial year 2003–04 is not yet available.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax he estimates has been uncollected in the past five years. [162467]

Dawn Primarolo

In respect of the Inland Revenue, I refer the hon. Member to the NAO report "The Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue", which reflects the position in March 2003. Comparable data for earlier years are not available.

Customs' latest estimates of tax losses were published in "Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses" in December 2003, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.