Mr Osborne claims that he will claw back the money, and more besides, through new anti-avoidance measures.

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The government has now announced anti-avoidance measures targeted at this bed and breakfasting, as well as other more complex loan related planning arrangements.

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This allows for boats to fish if they are practising "cod avoidance measures", such as eliminator trawls, which allow effective fishing for haddock and whiting while eliminating cod from the catch.

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This tax blueprint, first reported in the Financial Times, includes tough anti-avoidance measures that would catch some trades executed in New York, London, or Hong Kong -- even when no eurozone entity is buying or selling the product.

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The proposal has already been backed by Holyrood's finance committee, which welcomed measures to clamp down on tax avoidance on transactions involving land and buildings in Scotland.

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After all, chancellors always say they are going to close loopholes and cut down on avoidance - Mr Osborne promised to raise a billion with such measures only a year ago.

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