Draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Belarus) Order 2018 Draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Ukraine) Order 2018

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Monday 4th June 2018 General Committees

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Many of my questions have already been asked by the hon. Member for Oxford East, which is great. Obviously, the Scottish National party welcomes both treaties. I very much echo the point the hon. Lady made about getting more information on the process behind them ahead of time. I asked in the Library, but it was not able to provide something at such short notice. It would be useful to have more narrative information in advance of these Committees so that we are well versed on what is happening.

It would be useful to get a better understanding, as the hon. Member for Oxford East mentioned, of the forward plan and of the timescale of these treaties. As she mentioned, it was October for Ukraine, and it was September for Belarus—the agreement was signed on 26 September—so it would be useful to know the Government’s timescale for future agreements. Where are they at the moment? When are they likely to be signed off and to come to the House? We want a clear idea of when they are coming, so that we can prepare adequately for them and engage with all-party groups that may have interest in talking about such things, so that they, too, are well prepared.

That is about all the information that I was seeking. It is interesting that it has taken this long to get to a treaty to replace the USSR one—it must have been an interesting, as well as long, process to get from that point to now—so it would be useful to know the Government’s timescales. Some of the African double taxation treaties have issues as well, because of references to countries that have not existed for quite some time. It would be useful to see the detail of anything that the Government are preparing, so that we can see who the agreements are with and perhaps prioritise those that might be overdue for being looked at.