Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the abuse of privileges by trusts.

Tackling tax evasion is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs. This Government has given HM Revenue and Customs an additional £1.8 billion since 2010 to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.

As promised in our manifesto, the Government is improving transparency and tackling misuse of trusts. The Government has established a register of trusts incurring UK tax consequences, enabling law enforcement authorities to identify beneficial owners of relevant trusts.

The UK is currently engaged with EU negotiations on targeted amendments to the Fourth Money Laundering Directive. These amendments will include increased obligations for trusts to register information on their beneficial ownership.