text_body: --- DIVISION TITLE ---
  
  Finance (No. 2) Bill - Decline Second Reading
  
  --- MOTION EFFECT ---
  
  
  
  @ MP voted aye against excluding overseas activities of UK headquartered banking groups from the bank levy, and against of reducing stamp duty for first time buyers of homes in transactions of up to Â£500,000. 
  
  @ MP voted no in favour of excluding overseas activities of UK headquartered banking groups from the bank levy, and in favour of reducing stamp duty for first time buyers of homes in transactions of up to Â£500,000. 
  
  
  The majority of MPs voted in favour of excluding overseas activities of UK headquartered banking groups from the bank levy, and in favour of reducing stamp duty for first time buyers of homes in transactions of up to Â£500,000. 
  
  MPs were considering the Finance Bill[1].
  
  MPs were considering the motion:
  
  :That the Bill be now read a Second time.
  
  This vote was on an amendment to that motion stating:
  
  :leave out from âThatâ to the end of the Question and add:
  
  :âthis House
  :''declines'' to give a Second Reading to the Finance (No. 2) Bill because it contains no measures to address the fact that the UK has the slowest economic growth in the G7 while the IFS warns of two decades of lost earnings growth, it fails to reverse the Governmentâs 2015 Bank Levy cut resulting in Â£4.7bn less in tax revenue from banks over five years and contains measures to further limit the scope of the Bank Levy resulting in a further fall in revenue, whilst at the same time crucial services that many children and families across the country desperately rely on are at risk due to seven years of budget cuts, it proposes a stamp duty cut that, according to the analysis of the OBR, will increase house prices, instead of helping to address the housing crisis through measures to build more affordable homes, it proposes policies without the benefit of an adequate Equalities Impact Assessment, it arises from a Budget which made no provision for lifting the public sector pay cap or addressing the funding crisis in social care and the NHS, it includes no measures properly to tackle tax avoidance and evasion and it is not based on an amendment of the law resolution, thus restricting the scope of amendments and reducing the Houseâs ability to properly scrutinise and improve the Bill.â
  
  Key provisions in the Finance Bill which were opposed by those voting for the amendment included[1][2]:
  
  * Imposing income tax and corporation tax in 2018-19.
  * Keeping income tax rates at the 2017-18 levels for 2018-19
  * Eliminating stamp duty for first time buyers of homes in transactions of under Â£300,000 and reducing the duty for transactions of up to Â£500,000.
  * Excluding overseas activities of UK headquartered banking groups from the bank levy (an annual tax on banks calculated as a fraction of their total applicable liabilities and equities). 
  
  
  
  ==
  
  
  * [1] [https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/financeno2.html Parliament's webpage on the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2017-19]
  * [2] [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664009/explanatory_notes.pdf Explanatory notes to the  Finance (No. 2) Bill 2017-19]
  
  
  --- COMMENTS AND NOTES ---
  
  (put thoughts and notes for other researchers here)
  