Bill to make provision for disqualification from membership of the House of Commons and the House of Lords on grounds relating to residence and domicile for taxation purposes; and for connected purposes.

Gordon Prentice (Lab, Pendle) introduced second reading debate on the Disqualification from Parliament (Taxation Status) Bill in the Commons on January 25.

When opening the debate, he briefly outlining the general principle of the Bill “that those who make our laws should pay our taxes”. He added:

“My short Bill would disqualify members from the House of Commons and the House of Lords if they were not resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes. Members of the Commons would declare their residency status once in every parliament, but peers would have to certify annually that they were UK residents.”

Prentice cited the example of Lord Laidlaw, who reneged on his promise to become a UK resident for tax purposes following his ennoblement in 2004.  Prentice went on to call for new rules with the necessary statutory basis, and he expressed his hope that the concerns he had highlighted would be included in the omnibus constitutional reform Bill that the government are bringing forward next month.

Justice minister, Bridget Prentice, responded on behalf of the government. She stated:

“The government agree with the intention underlying the Bill…The public would find it odd if their elected representative in this House could, as a tax exile, vote on the provision of income tax but was not subject personally to that regime.”

She indicated that certain amendments would be required during the committee stage to overcome “some potential technical problems” with the Bill.

House of Commons

First reading: December 5 2007 [HC Bill 24]

Second reading: January 25 2008 (debate adjourned)

Second reading: May 16 2008