Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January to Question 124954 on Colombia and Lesotho: Taxation, what discussions officials in her Department had with HMRC on the (a) Lesotho, (b) Columbia and (c) Kyrgyzstan tax treaties.

Officials at the Department for International Development did not have any specific discussions with HMRC on tax treaty negotiations between the UK and Lesotho, Colombia or Kyrgyzstan.

HMRC is the lead department for the negotiation of the UK’s tax treaties, reporting to HM Treasury Ministers. HMRC seeks views from a range of interested parties, including DFID, and then takes a judgement about which countries to seek to engage with. DFID has supported this approach which led to recent successful negotiations with Colombia, Lesotho and Kyrgyzstan.