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Tough new penalties to crackdown on tax avoidance had been promised by the Tory government.

Theresa May had vowed to get tough on lawyers and accountants who "enable" tax avoidance which HMRC later decides is against the rules.

However, these have now been quietly shelved amid Conservative claims there was not enough time to debate it before the general election.

The plans were designed to target firms that exploit loopholes in the system to help people avoid tax without actually breaking the law.

A second law was also set to axe non-dom tax status for people who have lived in the UK for 15 of the last 20 years.

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But both were wrapped up in a bundle of measures shelved as MPs rushed to pass a slimmed-down version of the Budget on time.

But tax avoidance had been a key point for Theresa May and here are the six times she has condemned firms which fail to pay their fare share of taxes

1 Theresa May CBI speech 21 November 2016

“For business, it means doing more to spread those benefits around the country, playing by the same rules as everyone else when it comes to tax and behaviour, and investing in Britain for the long-term.”

2 Theresa May at Davos World Economic Forum January 19 2017

“That is why I have talked a great deal about our country delivering yet higher standards of corporate governance, to help make the UK the best place to invest of any major economy. That means several things.

(Image: REUTERS)

"It means businesses paying their fair share of tax, recognising their obligations and duties to their employees and supply chains, and trading in the right way;

"Companies genuinely investing in – and becoming part of – the communities and nations in which they operate, and abiding by the responsibilities that implies.”

3 Theresa May Conference speech 2016

“But we also value something else: the spirit of citizenship.

"That spirit that means you respect the bonds and obligations that make our society work. That means a commitment to the men and women who live around you, who work for you, who buy the goods and services you sell.

"That spirit that means recognising the social contract that says you train up local young people before you take on cheap labour from overseas.

"That spirit that means you do as others do, and pay your fair share of tax.

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"But today, too many people in positions of power behave as though they have more in common with international elites than with the people down the road, the people they employ, the people they pass in the street.

"But if you believe you’re a citizen of the world, you’re a citizen of nowhere. You don’t understand what the very word ‘citizenship’ means.”

4 Theresa May PMQs March 15 2017

“This is a very important issue, and one on which I think this Government have a record of which we can be proud, but of course there is more to do.

"Since 2010, through the work we have done on tackling tax evasion, avoidance and non-compliance, we have secured an additional £140 billion in compliance yield.

"Internationally, we have driven the global agenda. We have now got 100 countries signed up to the automatic exchange of financial account information, and we have pushed G7 and G20 partners to establish registers of beneficial ownership, but my right hon.

"Friend is right: there is more to do. We will continue to crack down on big companies not paying their tax. I want to see an economy that works for everyone, and that means that big companies should be paying their tax as well as everybody else.”

5 Theresa May statement on G20 summit Sept 7 2016

“There are many issues already where the UK has been at the forefront of discussions, including on climate change and tax avoidance and evasion. It is important that we continue to play that role.”

6 Conservative manifesto 18 May 2017

“We have taken vigorous action against tax avoidance and evasion, closing the tax gap – the difference between the amount of tax due and the amount collected – to one of the lowest in the world.

"We will now go further. We will legislate for tougher regulation of tax advisory firms. We will take a more proactive approach to transparency and misuse of trusts.”