Mick Antoniw raised the reporting point that the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has raised. Dirprwy Lywydd, can I say that I absolutely understand and share the committee's desire to make our legislation as clear and accessible as possible? But I didn't feel I could simply depart from the established approach of the Welsh Government on a one-off occasion. What we are doing, however, is to follow up the recent consultation on the possibility of developing an interpretation Act for Wales, and the Counsel General has heard the comments made here this afternoon and I know that, when he is considering how the 1978 Act operates and the steps that can be taken to improve accessibility of Welsh law, he will directly take into account the point that the committee has made in relation to these regulations.

Can I thank Nick Ramsay for his further points, for the work that he did on the charter? His neighbour to his left will be pleased to know that Jocelyn Davies very specifically told me that the charter was based on the principles of co-production, that it was providing for a relationship not of a provider and a user, but trying to see the Welsh Revenue Authority as an organisation that would be jointly involved with the people who use it in the business of providing the services on which they will rely.

Can I answer the points that were made as well in relation to the switch off? When I met the Chief Secretary on Friday, our discussion of this matter was the result of a very significant piece of work done by senior officials of the Welsh Government and of the Treasury, who tested the system that we are proposing and the readiness of HMRC against 24 different criteria to satisfy themselves that they could recommend to us that the current system could be switched off in order to allow our new taxes to take effect. It will require the Chief Secretary to lay an Order in Parliament in order to switch off the current system. She told me on Friday that she was happy now to do that, and I'm happy to say that the co-operation we've had at official level, and indeed with the Chief Secretary, on this matter has been very productive.

Can I turn then, Dirprwy Lywydd, to the specifics of this set of regulations? I said in relation to the previous ones on landfill disposals tax that I was able to sustain the proposals made back in October right through to today; that isn't the case in relation to land transaction tax. Again, Nick Ramsay said that, during the passage of the Bill, there were those who argued strongly that rates and bands should have been set out on the face of the Bill. One of the reasons why I was reluctant to accede to those arguments was an anxiety that, with a major fiscal event at the UK level during the time that these regulations would be discussed in Wales, we may have to undo the work of the Act by bringing new regulations forward.

As a result of the budget, the UK Government's autumn budget, I have indeed announced revised LTT residential rates, altering the ones that were published at the start of October. What we're now able to do, and what is reflected in the regulations in front of you, is to increase the starting threshold for residential main rates to £180,000, and in doing so that makes possible a reduction in tax for over 24,000 home buyers in Wales compared to what they would have been paying under SDLT, and without the additional complexity of a new relief as in England.

This is by far the highest starting threshold anywhere in the United Kingdom, and fully £55,000 higher than stamp duty land tax. This means, as Neil Hamilton said, that the average home buyer in Wales will have a tax cut of over £500. Furthermore, around 80 per cent of first-time buyers in Wales will pay no tax. This is the same proportion as will pay no tax under the first-time buyer relief in England, but the changes here also benefit equally hard-pressed citizens seeking to buy an affordable home.

For commercial transactions, Wales will have the lowest starting rate of tax for businesses anywhere in the United Kingdom. This means businesses will either pay no tax or less tax than under SDLT for all property purchases up to £1.1 million. This will benefit small and medium-sized businesses right across Wales.

For both residential and non-residential rates, I have increased the progressivity of the tax. This does mean that those buying the most expensive property in Wales will pay more, but it is right that those who can afford to pay more. Nevertheless, nine out of 10 transactions in Wales will pay less or the same tax than under LTT, and we will have acted to make this tax suit the needs of Wales and to make it fairer for people who live here. Once again, I hope that Members will be willing to support those regulations.