James Wild
MP for North West Norfolk · Conservative · United Kingdom
“The Minister failed to respond to any of the questions asked by the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul), so I will try again: some companies have expressed an interest in the business, so what discussions is the Minister, or his colleagues, having with potential buyers?”
“Passengers on the Fen line from King’s Lynn are suffering repeated cancellations and an unacceptably poor level of service. Now that the Government control both the track and the trains, will the Transport Secretary intervene and demand a robust action plan to sort out this poor performance?”
“The Hunstanton coastguard rescue officers I have met responded to 150 emergency shouts last year, and the small payment helped them to perform this role for locals and visitors alike.”
“Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley spoke about the offensive nature of those letters and their dreadful impact on victims—telling them that in September the first wave of criminals will be released. Others will not yet have been informed.”
“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. The Lady Chief Justice appeared before parliamentary Committees to tell MPs that she could have more sitting days if only the Government would produce, I think, about £20 million of funding—a fairly minimal amount in the scheme of the £1.3 trillion that the Government spend every year—rather than go…”
“It is a privilege to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), whose incredibly powerful speech gave voice to the victims and the impact that the horrific abuse has had on them. He has led on this issue consistently in this House, and his words should carry incredible weight.”
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“The disregarded income regime will continue to operate, providing some limitation on the tax paid by non-residents in specific circumstances. We need to look at the clause, and the ones coming up, in the broader context. It represents a shift in how UK tax dividends flow to foreign investors and, in practice, it will effectively increase the tax rate burden on dividend recipients who are non-UK residents. At a time when the UK needs to attract international capital, we need to look at the measures in the Budget as a whole and whether they strengthen or undermine our competitive position. Attracting capital to be invested was a topic that we discussed this morning.”
“As the Minister says, clause 42 abolishes the notional tax credit that non-residents have historically been able to claim on their UK dividend income. Under the current system, non-domiciled individuals can offset that notional credit against other UK income streams, such as rented income or partnership profits. However, from April, that arrangement will no longer apply. Non-residents will no longer be treated as having already paid UK tax on dividends received from UK companies, meaning that they will lose the ability to reduce their overall UK tax liability from using the credit. It is worth noting that UK residents lost access to the notional dividend tax credit back in April 2016, so in one sense the clause simply removes what is perceived as a potential unfair advantage enjoyed by non-UK residents.”
“On the surface, this may look like a simple tidying-up exercise, but on closer inspection it raises some important questions about the coherence of the Government’s overall approach to taxing globally mobile individuals. While we support fair taxation, this Government have once again produced needlessly complex legislation that contains retrospective elements and leaves ordinary people potentially facing unexpected tax bills.”
“The Minister has skirted over quite a few detailed issues rather briefly. It will reassure the Committee to know that I intend to take a bit more time to go through what are detailed and important principles, and to reflect on questions raised in an earlier clause—how competitive we are, what we want to do, and whether we want to attract wealthy people to the country. I will initially speak to clause 43, schedule 3 and amendments 30 to 35, which were tabled in my name. Clause 43 introduces schedule 3 of the Bill, and members of the Committee will see that the schedule runs to 14 pages of complex detail, so it is important that we properly scrutinise it. Those pages make various changes to the foreign income and gains regime brought into effect by the Finance Act 2025.”
“Without clear guidance, ordinary commercial transactions could inadvertently be caught. The Government must publish comprehensive examples, or businesses and individuals will be left guessing. When Ministers replaced the long-standing non-dom regime last year, they promised a clean, modern and transparent framework, yet within a year we have a schedule of corrective provisions to make the legislation operate “as intended”. That rather suggests that the original drafting was not as watertight as claimed, and that further tweaks along the lines we have suggested might still be needed before the system settles.”
“It should be easier to understand and apply measures aimed at getting people to bring money back to the UK. There is a risk that, as drafted, these measures drive against the Government’s intention. Amendments 1 and 2 are tabled in a constructive spirit. Amendment 1 would stop the double counting, and amendment 2 is about the retrospective and unfair action. They would provide the certainty that, according to some experts in this field, is currently missing. Without the TRF being attractive, we will not be able to get the money coming into the country. I urge the Minister to respond more fully than she did in her opening remarks and to consider whether, on Report or at a later stage, amendments could be tabled to deliver the clarity that my amendments and those tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor offer.”
“We can debate whether the number is 10,000 or 5,000, but some figures suggest that the equivalent of 750,000 basic rate taxpayers have left the country. So this is not about ideology; it is about giving certainty and addressing the points that the Bill as drafted does not. The TRF could become unusable for some because of the risks it exposes them to. There is the double taxation, which I have talked about, as well as the retrospective elements, but in addition, accusations of tax avoidance could arise from using a scheme that Parliament has itself created and lead to potentially lengthy investigations. People are leaving, and the Chartered Institute of Taxation has said that tax rules under the measure make the UK a less attractive destination for people.”
“Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin), relate to this issue. The Government refer to the temporary repatriation facility as encouraging wealthy people to stay and invest here, and the Treasury is counting on these measures to raise a significant sum for public services, although I note that the OBR suggests there is considerable uncertainty about that. However, we know that the wealthiest people—the wealthiest investors, the people who are supporting our entrepreneurs and the high-growth businesses that we want to see—are leaving the UK as a result of steps that the Chancellor has taken. By some estimates, 10,000 people have already got on a plane and left—those are figures from Oxford Economics.”
“Perhaps I could give the Committee an example to illustrate this point further: a family has an offshore trust for two adult children and one child previously used special tax rules while the other has always paid full UK tax. Under this Bill, only the first child could benefit from the TRF when the trust is wound up. That does not encourage bringing money to the UK but, I would contend, actively discourages it. Amendment 34 would therefore enable offshore trust beneficiaries who have not themselves used the remittance basis to use the TRF. Amendment 35 would enable trustees to pay a temporary repatriation facility charge on the trust’s past FIG while retaining the funds within the trust, without having to make capital payments to the beneficiary. Amendments 1 and 2, in the name of my hon.”
“The temporary repatriation facility applies a 12% or 15% rate to the personal FIG of individuals who have previously used the remittance basis as well as certain capital payments from offshore trusts. This was to encourage the winding-up of foreign trust structures. Right now, though, the trusts part works only if the beneficiary getting the capital could have used the remittance basis in their own right. That creates an unfair outcome in families where one beneficiary has used the remittance basis but another has always paid full UK tax on worldwide income, because only the former can benefit from the lower temporary repatriation rate if the trust is wound up.”
“That is not about closing a loophole; it is about changing the rules after people have already acted. Our amendments 31 and 32 would ensure that double taxation does not apply retrospectively. Fourthly, in this clause and schedule the Government have created arbitrary restrictions so that the TRF is available only to UK residents. Why should someone temporarily living abroad not be able to use this facility? The temporary non-residence rule means that they will be paying UK tax when they return anyway, so why not let them use the TRF? The rules create a situation where someone who wants to pay tax voluntarily is not able to do so. Our amendment 33 would ensure that the TRF is available to both UK residents and non-residents. Similar concerns have also been raised regarding offshore trusts.”
“Do they think it will encourage or discourage the repatriation of funds that this facility is designed to encourage, to help support our economy and public services? I would contend that the incentive, as a result, is to keep the money out of the UK, which is not what we on the Opposition side—or, I believe, on the Government side—of the Committee want to see. We therefore tabled amendment 30 to remedy this issue, and I encourage Members to support us on it when the moment comes. Thirdly, the Bill contains retrospective taxation. Let us be clear: retrospective taxation should be reserved for the most egregious tax avoidance, but here, trustees who made payments to beneficiaries in good faith after April, relying on existing law, may now face double taxation because of rules that look backwards.”
“First, they believe that, as drafted, the new offshore income gains paragraph introduced here leads to an anomaly in the way that trust distributions are matched where a trust has generated offshore income gains. That results in trusts with surplus pre-6 April 2025 capital gains tax being treated differently from those without. We do not believe that to be the Government’s intention; perhaps the Minister can clarify. Secondly, investments clearly fall in value, but under this legislation, if someone invested foreign income overseas and it is now worth less, they will still pay the temporary repatriation facility charge on the original higher amount. That could mean paying 12% tax on £100,000 even though the investment is worth only £60,000. Do Committee members think that is fair?”
“Part 2 relates to the temporary repatriation facility, clarifies how remittances to the UK under that temporary facility should be matched to their original source. For years, non-domiciled individuals could keep foreign money offshore, paying UK tax only if they brought it here. The TRF offers a window until 2028, precisely to encourage people to bring money to the UK at reduced rates of 12% in the next two years or 15% in ’27-28. That is, as I said to the hon. Member for Burnley, a good idea in principle, but the devil, as ever, is in the detail. Our friends at the Chartered Institute of Taxation pointed out some serious concerns that there are several paragraphs within the schedule—which I see the hon. Member turning to—that do not appear to work as intended or that produce unintended consequences.”
“That is very sensible, but the Government have made claiming that relief so complicated that honest taxpayers risk falling into traps simply through lack of awareness. I hope the Government will take account of the following sensible steps suggested by the Chartered Institute of Taxation: first, to remove the requirement to report every possible element of FIG as part of the claim, and instead making relief from UK tax on FIG the default position; similarly, extending the relief to the personal representatives of a deceased individual who themselves qualified; and finally, simplifying the legislation by aligning the income tax position on trust distributions with the capital gains position. I would be grateful for the Minister’s response on those points when she winds up.”
“Well, indeed. I will come on to the detail. On the broader point, we support the initiative behind these measures—to encourage people to bring more of their money to the UK, precisely so it can help fund our public services. Our concern is about the implementation, and I will come on to some of the comments that representatives of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, who are widely acknowledged as experts in this area, have raised about the complexity and the retrospective elements. As I said, schedule 3 is in three parts. Part 1 relates to relief for new residents on foreign income and gains—FIG. Under the new FIG regime, when someone moves to the UK, they do not pay UK tax on their foreign income for the first four years here.”
“I hope that the Minister can assure the Committee that she will look at the case for publishing clear guidance to ensure that businesses are not adversely impacted.”
“The Government must provide clear, comprehensive guidance on exactly what level of review and monitoring employers are expected to undertake not to fall foul of the rules. Without that clarity and guidance, we risk creating a compliance minefield in which well-meaning employers inadvertently break rules that they could not reasonably be expected to follow. Guidance can help employers to comply with the law, as we all want them to do. The Government like to talk about making Britain the best place to do business and to champion our competitive advantage in attracting global talent—we have just discussed one area in which that may or may not be the reality—but we should seek to avoid introducing measures that potentially add to the compliance burden without giving guidance to employers.”
“That sounds reasonable in practice, but I want an assurance from the Minister about the potential administrative burden that it will place on employers. It could mean that employers will now be expected to monitor the day-to-day working practices of globally mobile working employees. They will need to track whether individuals are working from home or from a hotel room in Boston, which is not necessarily a simple task. For multinational companies with hundreds of employees, this represents a potentially significant compliance burden at a time when we want to reduce the burdens on business. For smaller businesses venturing into international markets for the first time, it could be a disincentive—indeed, a barrier—to their trying to do so.”
“Clause 45 will extend the PAYE notification process to include treaty non-residents and introduce the 30% cap, to which the Minister referred, on overseas workday relief that can be claimed through PAYE. In simple terms, clause 45 and schedule 4 will change how employers operate PAYE for people who move to the UK but are treated as resident in another country under a tax treaty. The clause will let employers agree with HMRC that the part of the employee’s salary that is expected to be exempt overseas be left out of PAYE during the year, and it will formally limit how much foreign employment relief can be given to 30%. The changes under the clause will require employers to send further notification to HMRC whenever there is a change in the employee’s circumstances that affects the proportion of earnings subject to PAYE.”
“Can she guarantee that legitimate business structures that have previously been accepted by HMRC under the DPT will not suddenly fall foul of the scope of the new rules? Will she also comment on the main purpose test, to provide clarity and certainty for businesses?”
“As the Chartered Institute of Taxation rightly says, it is unsatisfactory to pass legislation with a wide definition and simply hope that HMRC guidance and rules will narrow it down later. That is not how we in Parliament should legislate. We discussed the loan charge during this morning’s sitting; HMRC applied rules in a way that most MPs did not consider reasonable, and we have now had to make changes through this Bill to address that historical issue. The law should be made clear in the Bill, not left to administrative interpretation. I would be grateful if the Minister confirmed how many multinational companies HMRC estimates are using pricing manipulation to avoid tax.”
“First, the new tax design condition is very broad: it captures transactions designed to reduce, eliminate or delay UK tax liability. There is a question as to whether legitimate commercial decisions made for regulatory compliance or capital requirements could be caught by the condition simply because they are deliberate and happen to reduce tax liability, even when tax planning is not the primary motive. I know that is not the intention behind the drafting, but that point has been raised, so I hope that the Minister will respond in order to avoid any uncertainty as to whether businesses that think they are operating within the law, without seeking to reduce, eliminate or delay tax liability, may be captured. Will the existing arrangements be grandfathered? Can HMRC revisit settled positions under these broader rules?”
“In simple terms, if a global business structures its arrangements to shift profits from the UK in a pricing manipulation, HMRC will be able to bring those diverted profits into UK tax at a higher, penalty-style rate. In principle, we support that approach. Moving away from the stand-alone tax and bringing diverted profits under corporation tax provides better treaty access and clarity, and clearly the six percentage point charge works as a deterrent, as countries that play games with their transfer policies will risk paying more tax than if they had priced their UK dealings properly in the first place. However, I would welcome the Minister’s response to the concerns that the Chartered Institute of Taxation has raised about the drafting of the clause.”
“The clause introduces schedule 5, which will repeal the diverted profits tax and replace it with new rules to tax unassessed transfer pricing profits within the corporation tax regime, coming into effect for periods beginning on or after 1 January. The diverted profits tax will continue to apply for prior accounting periods. In effect, the clause creates a higher tax charge on profits that should have been taxed here, but were shifted out of the UK by using non-market prices between groups. Like the DPT, the new transfer pricing profits rules are intended to target structured arrangements that are designed to erode the UK tax base by omitting profits that are subject to transfer pricing. These unassessed transfer pricing profits will be taxed at a rate that is six percentage points higher than corporation tax.”
“Clause 47 and schedule 6 mark an evolution in the UK’s transfer pricing regime. The Opposition recognise the importance of getting this right: it goes to the heart of how multinational profits are attributed and taxed, and therefore how we ensure that companies pay the correct amount of tax in this country. The principle behind transfer pricing is simple, even if it is rarely simple in practice. I believe that these measures flow from a consultation process launched by the last Conservative Government, so they have a good origin. I hope that they will lead to greater certainty and reduce the burden that some companies may face.”
“I would add that, according to the Budget costings, the reporting duty would raise around £25 million in 2026-27, growing to £350 million a year, helping HMRC to tackle artificial profit shifting. That is welcome, but we should also consider the one-off and ongoing costs for businesses that have to re-engineer their systems. I would be grateful for the Minister’s response to my points about implementation and whether the hybrid model will actually be the best of both worlds.”
“However, each new requirement—whether it is the ICTS, pillar two returns or transfer pricing documentation—adds to the cumulative impact on businesses. We need to see these obligations in the round, not as each one being reasonable on its own terms. What is the overall picture of what we are imposing on companies? If that load becomes too great, the UK will be seen as a less attractive place to invest, which is certainly not what we want. Although we support the principle of better risk assessment, we continue to press Ministers to ensure that we have proportionate and workable solutions that add value for HMRC, businesses and our constituents. New clause 4 would simply require a report setting out those impacts.”
“The Treasury has said that it will consult on detailed regulations in the spring of this year. We welcome that commitment. Can the Minister give an assurance that she will make sure that businesses and representative bodies will be closely involved in shaping how the system is put into practice? With the planned 2027 start date, there is not a lot of time to get the rules in place or for companies to build or modify systems to provide the new data. Can that be done without causing undue cost and disruption to businesses? Finally, I want to make a slighter broader point on the clause. We clearly understand the importance of robust compliance and the need to protect the UK tax base on behalf of our constituents so that we can deliver public services.”
“As the Minister rightly says, most major economies already have some equivalent form of reporting, but it should be pointed out that the differences between them are significant. Australia, for example, operates a single transaction-driven disclosure process through its international dealings schedule; the United States of America relies on a more fragmented, relationship-based approach spread across multiple forms. Each system clearly has its benefits and disadvantages. What matters is that each country has a clear, consistent model to which businesses can understand and readily adapt. What the Government seem to be proposing is a hybrid. That might mean that we have the best of both worlds—let us all hope so—but it might also lead to an approach that is inconsistent with the systems that some multinationals already have.”
“Chasing down questions and embarking on inquiries can often lead nowhere and can cost businesses time that could be spent on growing their business. However, it is also important that the Government explain how the system will work in practice and how it will be seen to work. Our new clause 4 would therefore require a report on the impact of these changes on cross-border trade and the administrative burden on businesses. During the consultation last year, the Treasury acknowledged that more needed to be said about how the data collected through the ICTS system would be used and how it would fit alongside existing obligations such as master and local files. That remains a crucial point of detail that the industry and advisers will be looking for as this measure is implemented. Can the Minister shed some light on those concerns today?”
“New clause 4 stands in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest. As the Minister says, clause 48 introduces a power for HMRC to implement a new reporting obligation: the ICTS, which will come into force in 2027. This new power would require businesses engaged in significant cross-border transactions to disclose specified information about their dealings. Rightly, the intention is to give HMRC better tools to identify transfer pricing and international tax risks that could affect the tax take, and to allow it to conduct more efficient and better-targeted compliance activity. I recognise that objective and support it in principle. I agree that the ICTS could help HMRC to identify risk earlier and to avoid wasting the time of the Department and businesses.”
“If so, what is the purpose of that, considering that we might be dealing with multinational companies operating in multiple jurisdictions that would have to follow separate rules when the OECD has brought together a coherent package?”
“Clause 49 and schedule 7 make changes to the rules that decide, where a company has a permanent establishment in the UK, how its profits are then taxed and when they apply. The Minister talked about modernising and simplifying the rules to bring them into line with international best practice. To clarify, in November 2025 the OECD published new guidance on the definition of a “permanent establishment”. Can the Minister confirm whether the UK’s current approach reflects that updated guidance, as I have been advised that it does not? Some expert bodies have pointed out that the OECD changes are generally helpful and would bring more consistency across countries, so does the Minister agree that it would make sense for the UK to broadly adopt them? Is that the Government’s approach, or have they deliberately decided to have a set of UK rules?”
“To conclude, international co-operation on tax is essential, but we need to ensure not only that the UK is honouring its commitments, but that other countries are meeting theirs, so that UK companies are not losing out as a result.”
“Without scrutiny, the risk is that UK-headquartered multinationals will find themselves complying with complex and burdensome rules, while their competitors operating elsewhere face a lighter regime. I simply note that the Chartered Institute of Taxation pointed out that it thinks the burdens of pillar two “continue to appear disproportionate to the amount of tax that will be raised”. If the Government truly believe that the regime provides a balanced and proportionate approach to a level playing field and that we can be assured that the competitive advantage does not go to other countries, let us have that report, see it set out to Parliament and have the matter resolved.”
“The US Treasury Secretary has described the side-by-side deal as “a historic victory in preserving US sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach.” Will the Minister comment on what pillar two means in that context and on the UK’s position? The impacts that might flow from that are precisely why new clause 5 is needed. The Government say that the UK is aligned with international developments, but the international landscape is shifting. Other major economies have delayed implementation or have adopted narrower regimes; meanwhile, the US has its own agreement and has not legislated for this framework at all.”
“Those are sensible to maintain international consistency, but throughout last year there was growing international uncertainty about pillar two, the subject of the clause, as political divergence emerged over how it should operate, particularly regarding the treatment of US-parented companies. The Minister referred to the side-by-side agreement made between G7 Governments last summer—and formalised, I think, this month—allowing certain UK and US multinationals to be exempt from parts of the rules while retaining access to the newly defined safe harbours. The agreement might bring some short-term stability, but it raises questions, and clearly we will be scrutinising it when, as the Minister said, it comes forward in future legislation.”
“If it is conducting this work anyway, why not share it with Parliament, and accept that it is a proportionate step to ensure ongoing parliamentary scrutiny in a very important area—a level playing field for British firms? The Minister referred to the length of the schedule. The sheer volume of amendments, coming less than two years after pillar two was first introduced, highlights the extreme technical complexity of the global minimum tax and the challenges for businesses that have to comply with it to keep up to date. The Government’s aim is to ensure that UK rules remain consistent with the OECD model legislation, and schedule 8 is therefore aligned with the guidance and technical fixes.”
“New clause 5 would require the Chancellor to review the changes on a six-monthly basis and lay before Parliament a report assessing three key issues: whether other major economies are implementing pillar two on comparable timelines and with comparable scope, whether any competitive disadvantage is arising for UK-based multinationals, and the impact of differentiated treatment for the United States. Crucially, if that review identified a material competitive disadvantage to the UK and UK businesses, the Treasury would be obliged to provide remedial measures within three months. In rejecting new clause 5—another new clause that asks for a review—the Minister says that the Treasury is always conducting regular reviews of measures.”
“I rise to speak to clause 50 and to new clause 5, which is in my name. Clause 50 will amend parts of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 and implement the multinational top-up tax and domestic top-up tax. As I set out in the last Finance Bill Committee, in October 2021 more than 135 countries signed up to the G20/OECD agreement on reforming international transactions and taxation, which the clause refers to—a major achievement that aims to ensure that multinational groups pay a fair share of tax where they generate profits. Pillar two delivers a minimum global effective tax rate of 15% for large multinational groups in every country they operate in, and the UK has been one of the first jurisdictions to legislate for the changes.”
“As the Minister said, this is a fairly straightforward measure allowing HMRC to pay interest to companies that have had to hand over money under a now overturned EU state aid ruling relating to the controlled foreign company rules. The 2019 ruling was subsequently annulled. My only question for the Minister is: does the clause mark the final chapter in the UK’s compliance with the EU state aid rules relating to the controlled foreign companies regime, or could other outstanding matters give rise to further issues or payments?”
“I am really asking for the Minister’s assurance that HMRC will take a sensible and proportionate approach, particularly with smaller charities that are seeking to do the right thing in applying these rules. We all want to avoid the potential risk that this measure could deter charitable giving, when that is clearly not the intention. It is important that the concerns raised by the sector are aired in the Committee, and it is our role to do so.”
“The Charity Finance Group warns that the changes could mean more record keeping, compliance checks and bureaucracy, taking money away from frontline charitable activities and towards administration. I do not think that anyone would wish to see that. I do not know whether the Minister has anything more to add on that complexity. Adding complexity could also make life harder for executors and delay the administration of estates, which could affect the timing of cash flows to charities at a time when finances in the sector are under considerable pressure, and income is critical for them to do their job. There is also a risk that wealthier donors might think twice about leaving legacies to smaller charities, if they think that the charity might struggle to comply with HMRC rules.”
“HMRC has said that it will not set a deadline for how soon money must be used, although that ambiguity creates issues in itself. If the rules are unclear, HMRC could later decide that a gift has not been applied appropriately and withdraw the tax relief, undermining confidence that legacy gifts to charities will remain tax-free. Perhaps the Minister could give the Committee some clarity on that point, and on how HMRC will determine what counts as timely or appropriate application of funds. There is also a concern about the administrative burden it may place, particularly on smaller charities, which will have to prove that each legacy received has been properly applied to charitable purposes, even when the money is placed in long-term endowments or reserves.”
“The change will apply to gifts made on or after 6 April this year. New clause 6, in my name—it bears repetition—would require the Chancellor, within six months of the Act becoming law, to publish a report on the impact of the measure on charitable giving through estates and on the wider impact on the charity sector. Concerns have been raised that expanding rules to cover legacies could have unwelcome implications if charities do not apply inherited funds quickly enough to their charitable purposes, leading to them being taxed. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales warns that that uncertainty, particularly around the timing, may discourage potential donors from including charities in their wills. Clearly, none of us would wish to see that.”
“Charities are a very important topic. We need to ensure that we give it appropriate scrutiny, given the importance of charities in our society and communities. Clause 52 and new clause 6—which I will speak to—relate to extending the definition of attributable income to include legacies left to charities. In practice, that means that when a charity receives a gift left in a person’s will, it could face a tax charge if that money is not spent on its charitable activities. How charities use their funds is a topical subject in the context of the Church of England, which is planning to spend £100 million on its fund for healing, repair and justice—effectively a reparation fund for slavery, which many consider not to be an appropriate use of the funds, or what people gave funds to the Church for. I now turn to the clause.”
“Was that more flexible approach something that the Government have considered, and if so why did they chose to reject it?”
“I rise to speak clause 53 and new clause 7, which was tabled in my name. My comments will reflect submissions from people involved in the charitable sector and my discussions with them. The clause extends the allowable purpose to all categories of recognisable charitable investment—at present, it applies to only one, but it will cover all 12. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has raised a suggestion that the test be reframed from “for the sole purpose of” to “wholly or mainly” to the benefit of the charity. The concern is that there could be increased obligations for compliance on trustees who have to demonstrate that their every investment in, for example, their portfolio was made for the benefit of the charity rather than an ancillary purpose therein.”
“Does the Minister consider there is a risk that shifting to such an approach could have the effect that the charitable sector has set out? If so, will she commit to perhaps providing some practical guidance, with examples that charities and their compliance teams could look at so that they can see that charitable giving is not undermined? None of us on this Committee would want to do anything that would undermine the ability of charities to raise money and disincentivise anyone from giving money for fear that they might be caught inadvertently by rules when they have done nothing wrong.”