Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause 86—Tax status of members of the House of Lords: transitional provision. New clause 52—Disqualification from membership of the House of Commons and the House of Lords on grounds of residence and domicile for taxation purposes— '(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person is disqualified from membership of the House of Commons and House of Lords if he does not comply with the conditions set out in subsection (2). (2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are- (a) that he was resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of Part 14 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (c. 3) for the tax year during which he was elected or appointed and for each subsequent tax year; and (b) in the case of a non-domiciled United Kingdom resident, that he has not made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis in respect of the tax year in which he was first elected or appointed, nor in any of the previous 10 tax years, nor in any subsequent tax year during which he was a Member of Parliament. (3) Members of Parliament must submit a declaration to the relevant authority indicating that they are in compliance with the conditions set out in subsection (2). (4) A declaration under subsection (3) must be submitted to the relevant authority- (a) within 30 days of the date of election or appointment; (b) in the case of existing members of the House of Commons, within 30 days of the date on which this Act comes into force, and within 30 days of their election to any subsequent Parliament; or (c) in the case of existing members of the House of Lords, within 30 days of the date on which this Act comes into force, and subsequently between 1 February and 5 April in each calendar year. (5) Declarations must be made in accordance with arrangements made by the relevant authorities. (6) Members of Parliament who do not submit a declaration in accordance with subsections (4) and (5) shall be liable to disqualification under this section. (7) In sections 6 and 7 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (c. 24), references to that Act shall be construed as including references to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. (8) In this section- "appointed" means to have received a writ of summons to attend the House of Lords; "Member of Parliament" means a member of the House of Commons or a member of the House of Lords; "relevant authority" means-in the case of the House of Commons, the Speaker, and in the case of the House of Lords, the Lord Speaker.'. New clause 53- Members of House of Commons and House of Lords to be treated as domiciled in United Kingdom (No. 2) - 'Any person who- (a) is (or is elected to serve as) a member of the House of Commons, or (b) when this section comes into force is a member of the House of Lords, or (c) subsequently becomes a member of the House of Lords, is to be treated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs as being domiciled, resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, and will be liable to pay United Kingdom taxes accordingly in any relevant tax accounting year in which he holds membership of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.'. New clause 54- Deemed resignation and suspension on grounds of tax status - '(1) A member of the House of Lords is deemed to have resigned under section 32 if, after the commencement of this section, he makes a declaration to the effect that- (a) he is not resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of income tax, or (b) in the previous 12 months he has made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident. (2) The date of a resignation under subsection (1) is the day the declaration is made. (3) A resignation under this section comes into effect regardless of whether it would be a valid resignation under section 32. (4) Every member of the House of Lords must make a declaration at least once every calendar year about his residence and domicile for tax purposes. (5) A declaration under subsection (4) must state the member's belief about his residence for tax purposes and about whether he has made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident. (6) A copy of every declaration made under subsection (4) shall be deposited with the Clerk of the Parliaments. (7) A member of the House of Lords who fails to make a declaration under subsections (4) and (5) by the last day of December of any year is suspended from the House of Lords from the following day as if a resolution of suspension had been passed under section 31, such suspension to last until such time as the member makes a declaration complying with subsection (5). (8) A member of the House of Lords who dishonestly makes a false declaration under this section is guilty of an offence. (9) Anyone found guilty of an offence under subsection (8)- (a) shall be disqualified from membership of the House of Lords, and (b) shall be liable to imprisonment of up to five years and to an unlimited fine. (10) The offence created by subsection (8) shall be triable on indictment only.'. New clause 55- Tax status of members of the House of Commons - '(1) Every member of the House of Commons must at least once every calendar year make a declaration about his residence and domicile for tax purposes, which declaration must state the member's belief about his residence for income tax purposes and his belief about whether in the previous 12 months he has made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident. (2) A copy of every declaration made under subsection (1) shall be deposited with the Speaker. (3) A member of the House of Commons who makes a declaration to the effect that he believes that he is not resident in the United Kingdom for income tax purposes or that in the previous 12 months he has made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident shall be disqualified from membership of the House. (4) A member who has failed to make a declaration complying with subsection (1) by the last day of December in any year shall be treated as suspended from the service of the House until he makes a declaration complying with subsection (1). (5) A member of the House of Commons who dishonestly makes a false declaration under this section is guilty of an offence. (6) Anyone found guilty of an offence under subsection (5)- (a) shall be disqualified from membership of the House of Commons, and (b) shall be liable to imprisonment of up to five years and to an unlimited fine. (7) The offence created by subsection (5) shall be triable on indictment only.'. Government amendments 132 and 134.