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Bankruptcy

Volume 496: debated on Wednesday 16 September 2009

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of bankruptcy claims arising from the application of the provisions of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008; (289115)

(2) what recent estimate his Department has made of the effect on small businesses of the application of the provisions of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008.

Section 58 of the Finance Act 2008 will apply to a small number of individuals who have used a highly artificial tax avoidance scheme seeking to avoid paying UK tax on their UK income.

Section 58 clarifies understanding of the law to give taxpayers certainty in completing their tax returns. It puts beyond doubt that the scheme users are chargeable to UK tax on their share of the partnership income. The Government believes its action was entirely justified and fair to the majority of taxpayers.