Reconciling God and Mammon

Abstract

The CDC bill was taken in the House of Lords in December 1998 and then introduced into the House of Commons in the following March, with the second reading debate taking place in May. This provided the International Development Committee with an opportunity to hold further hearings in March and to publish a second report ‘to assist the House in exercising informed and detailed scrutiny of this important piece of legislation’.¹ As an indication of the drive to complete the legislative process, the bill had been introduced into the House of Lords without the Statement of Business Principles being available for inspection and before CDC’s future tax status had been resolved into text. This was still the case in March. The absence of the Statement of Business Principles drew a tart comment from the IDC.² On taxation, it had to be content with an assurance that amendments to the bill would be introduced at the committee stage, which did not prevent it from exploring the issues in some detail. DFID and CDC were examined again, particularly with a view to clarifying the intended workings of the control regime. Additionally, the Committee was keen to hear the views of people with a City background.