Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to investigate the offshoring by British based companies to registered addresses in Luxembourg for the purposes of reducing tax paid in the UK.

This Government is already aware of this and other practices, and has been relentless in its crackdown on tax avoidance, and has taken a range of action to prevent avoidance at the outset, and to detect and counter it effectively where it persists.

The UK is working with the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (FHTP), where it was an agreement was reached last May requiring the disclosure of information about tax rulings provided by tax authorities to companies to other countries affected by these, and that greater transparency in relation to these rulings was required. A framework for this was agreed that will require tax authorities to disclose these rulings to other tax authorities within 3 months. Countries will also be required to report annually to the OECD FHTP on the number of rulings exchanged and with which countries. Through these initiatives we will be able to gather the information relevant to tax avoidance schemes.

In addition, the UK is working with the G20, OECD and other countries to take forward the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Phase one of the BEPS project is now complete, with participants reaching agreement on seven reports which have been produced by the OECD and put to G20 Finance Ministers. The seven 2014 outputs represent substantial progress reflecting the work of the technical working groups as well as the input received from business, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.