HMRC explains Finance Bill – in 1148 pages

The government today published the 2008 Finance Bill alongside a 1148-page
set of explanatory notes to help ministers and the public make sense of it.

The Treasury website, where the hefty package of note is available for
download, warned site visitors about the sheer size of the document.

‘This file is large and may take several minutes to download depending on
your network connection,’ the website advised.

The accompanying lobby notes, a mere 22 pages, are much easier to digest –
and faster to download.

Commenting on the publication of the bill, financial secretary to the
Treasury Jane Kennedy said: ‘Today’s Finance Bill furthers the progress this
Government has made in building a stable, competitive economy that supports a
high level of enterprise and growth.’

Kennedy did not offer any comments on the length of what the Treasury press
notice described as the ‘more detailed explanatory notes’.

Further reading:

Download
the Finance Bill documents here