New Finance Bill published

A slimmed-down Finance (No 2) Bill has been published in order to pass some of the Budget measures before Parliament is dissolved for the General Election.

The Financial Times reported that Chancellor Gordon Brown will "shelve" controversial tax avoidance measures until after the election. It quoted George Osborne, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, as saying that the chancellor had agreed to "strip out" 77 of the Bill's 172 clauses.

The original Bill has been withdrawn and the new bill is expected to pass through Parliament by close of play today (Thursday, April 7)

The new Finance Bill and explanatory notes are available on the Treasury's website