Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government's new plans to change business rate liability for pubs will apply to hereditaments with a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 which are categorised by the Valuation Office Agency as (a) nightclubs, (b) restaurants, (c) hotels, (d) pubs with hotel rooms under VOA special category code 227, and (e) private members' clubs and working men’s clubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will visit a community development finance institution within the next six months.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) play an important role in supporting access to credit. My predecessor was pleased to chair a roundtable in July 2025 attended by banks and CDFIs, to discuss the barriers to achieving greater growth for CDFIs providing personal lending products. I am looking forward to a similarly productive discussion when I meet the Chief Executive of Responsible Finance later this Spring.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2026 business rates revaluation on small businesses operating in high street premises.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered freezing or reducing the small business multiplier in response to rising fixed costs for SMEs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures she is taking to help ensure all landlords declare their rental income accurately.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC seeks to promote compliance and prevent non-compliance as early as possible through targeted education and support. We use a range of data sources and other information to identify, deter, and respond to non-compliance in the property sector, and help landlords to get their tax right from day one, keep them on track, and offer an opportunity to address previous errors.
Where landlords do not come forward to correctly declare their rental income, HMRC takes further steps including opening formal compliance interventions where necessary. We respond strongly to those who deliberately bend or break the rules.
From April 2026, landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 will need to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. That threshold will reduce to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
MTD helps taxpayers pay the right amount of tax by encouraging timely and accurate record keeping, with digital prompts (where supported) pointing out errors or missing entries.
Through reducing error and improving accuracy in returns, MTD is expected to raise around £3bn in additional tax revenue by 2030-31.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to publish analysis of the business rates burden by sector and business size following the 2026 revaluation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the comparative impact of the 2026 business rates revaluation on (a) small retailers and (b) online distribution centres.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2025, what comparative analysis she has undertaken on the impact of the uptake of EVs of the introduction of pay-per-mile schemes in other jurisdictions including Iceland and New Zealand.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.
The Government considered the wider EV take-up landscape from examples in other countries. The impact of the introduction of similar taxes in other countries is not directly comparable, as in most international examples, the announcement coincided with the reduction or removal of government support for consumers to buy EVs. In contrast, the UK government has taken action to ensure that driving an electric vehicle is an attractive choice for consumers, and rather than reducing up-front incentives for EVs, 80% of eVED revenue from the first three years is being reinvested to extend support for EVs and the auto manufacturing industry.
In addition, the eVED rate for electric cars (3 pence per mile) will be set at half the fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel car driver, which is substantially lower than the rates set for schemes in New Zealand and Iceland (equivalent of more than 5 pence per mile).
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what powers the Valuation Office Agency has to fine householders, and at what level, for (a) not providing information to assist a council tax valuation request and (b) refusing a power of entry request which has been submitted in advance.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA does not have the power to directly fine householders.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 52 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the estimated uplift in the non-payment rate of council tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is a new tax and is separate to Council Tax. HVCTS costings do not assume any increase in the non-payment of Council Tax. The assumptions used to estimate the revenue raised by the HVCTS are set out in the costing note published at Budget 2025.