Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many businesses moved their headquarters out of the UK for tax purposes in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information is not held in the form requested; businesses are not taxed in the UK by reference to where their headquarters are, and there is no requirement on businesses to tell HM Revenue and Customs that they have moved their headquarters.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help small- and medium-sized businesses access extended credit terms.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government announced an unprecedented support package to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) through this challenging time, including the Government-backed loan schemes.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) provides Government-backed finance of up to £5m per business, helping SMEs who risk becoming unviable during this period. The scheme has provided over 49,000 finance facilities worth a value of over £10.1bn. The Bounce Back Loans Scheme (BBLS), ensures that the smallest businesses can access the finance they need in a matter of days. The scheme so far has provided over 863,000 loan facilities worth over £26bn.
The Government also continues to work with banks and other finance providers to help SMEs access the finance they need, and welcomes lenders ongoing support for customers, such as repayment holidays and fee-free overdraft extensions.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken by the banking sector to meet the needs of vulnerable customers.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
This Government believes that individuals, regardless of their background or income, should have access to useful and affordable financial products and services, including a bank account.
Basic bank accounts are a key financial inclusion policy, enabling people, including those that are vulnerable, to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently. These are bank accounts that are fee-free for all everyday banking services and have no overdraft facility. The 9 largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account.
The Treasury publishes data on basic bank accounts annually. The December 2019 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.
UK banks’ and building societies’ treatment of their customers is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA requires firms to identify particularly vulnerable customers, and to deal with such customers appropriately. This includes older people, disabled people, and those who may lack the capacity to manage their account on their own.
Further to this, the FCA recently concluded the first stage of a consultation on firms’ treatment of vulnerable customers and it will be issuing a second consultation in the spring. Protecting vulnerable customers is a key priority for the FCA. While many firms have made significant progress, the Treasury and the FCA want to see this issue being taken seriously by all firms so that vulnerable customers receive consistently fair treatment.
The Treasury continues to work with firms and the FCA to ensure that the needs of vulnerable customers are met.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the level of (1) income tax, and (2) National Insurance contributions, paid to the public purse by people under the age of 18 in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This table contains estimates of the total amount of Income Tax and National Insurance Contribution (NICs) liabilities of individuals who are under the age of 18 at the end of the tax year.
Total Income Tax and NICs liability of individuals under age 18 (£ million) | ||
| Income Tax | NICs |
2014-15 | 41 | 12 |
2015-16 | 47 | 13 |
2016-17 | 38 | 10 |
All figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole number.
These estimates are based on the latest outturn data from the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Figures for Income Tax are gross of dividend tax credit consistent with HMRC’s Income Tax liabilities Statistics publication.
Outturn data for the most recent two tax years (2017-18 and 2018‑19) is not yet available. The latest available outturn data in this format is from the Survey of Personal Incomes for 2016‑17. The estimates are for total liabilities rather than amounts actually paid.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will seek continued access to the VAT Information Exchange System after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The VAT Information Exchange system supports the free movement of goods between EU Member States. Access to the system will depend on the terms under which the UK leaves the EU. The current Withdrawal Agreement gives the UK continued access until the end of 2024.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what gambling activities are subject to (1) value-added tax, and (2) gross profits tax; and how much value-added tax was collected from adult gaming centres in England and Wales in (a) 2017, and (b) 2018.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
(1) Almost all gambling activities are exempt from value added tax (VAT). However, VAT does apply to prize machines that offer non-cash prizes only. Such machines are not typically located in adult gaming centres.
(2) There are seven Gambling Duties. Of these, six are based broadly on a gross profits tax model. The seventh, Lottery Duty is based on a percentage of the value of ticket sales.
Total receipts from Betting and Gaming are published on the UK Trade Information website. A separate breakdown for value added tax collected from adult gaming centres in England and Wales is not available.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what they estimate was the cost of training HM Revenue and Customs officers in Northern Ireland in the use of vehicle stop and search powers in each of the last two years.
Answered by Lord Bates
The cost is nil as no training has been delivered.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with international counterparts on the smuggling of illegal tobacco across the EU and into the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
HMRC holds regular discussions with international counterparts regarding the smuggling of illicit tobacco which impacts on the UK. The majority of these discussions take place through HMRC’s Network of Diplomatically accredited Fiscal Crime Liaison Officers (FCLOs). FCLOs are posted to Embassies and High Commissions across the globe in key locations to tackle the threat with assistance from overseas Customs, Tax and Law Enforcement agencies. HMRC also works closely with multilateral bodies such as the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and Europol.
FCLOs regularly share intelligence regarding illicit tobacco with overseas partners each year resulting in a revenue saving to the UK of over £500 million. Other areas of HMRC also share and request intelligence and evidence relating to illicit tobacco in order to directly disrupt and prosecute organised criminal groups smuggling illicit tobacco to the UK.
HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service and Risk and Intelligence Service also regularly engages with other EU member states in order to tackle illicit tobacco through fora such as EMPACT (European Multi-disciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats), which includes Joint Action Days, and with Joint Investigation Teams through Eurojust.
HMRC engage with the EU at a policy level and have recently agreed regulations for the introduction of an EU wide track and trace system for the control of genuine tobacco products under the Tobacco Products Directive. HMRC also work on the design and implementation of the EU illicit tobacco strategy, the Fight against Illicit Tobacco Trade (FITT).
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) prosecutions, and (2) convictions, in relation to fuel laundering there have been since 2014.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is not a prosecuting authority. All prosecutions have to be authorised by the relevant independent prosecuting authority, which for England and Wales would be the Crown Prosecution Service; for Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; and for Northern Ireland, the Public Prosecution Service for NI.
HMRC’s record does not differentiate between the forms of fuel fraud it investigates and so they cannot identify Prosecution and Convictions for fuel laundering. Prosecutions and Convictions instigated for oils offences since 2014 were as follows:
| 2014-15 | 2015-16 | Up to September 2016 |
Prosecutions | 34 | 37 | 0 |
Convictions | 6 | 23 | 12 |
The figures for prosecutions and convictions in any particular year do not correspond as investigations and prosecutions do not always reach conclusion in the year that they commence.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) arrests, and (2) convictions, for diesel laundering there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not break down statistics for oils convictions to separate out those arising from diesel laundering. Total arrests and convictions for oils offences in Northern Ireland for the last complete three years for which figures are available were as follows:
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
Arrests | 8 | 0 | 13 |
Convictions | 9 | 9 | 5 |
The figures for arrests and convictions in any particular year do not correspond as investigations and prosecutions do not always reach conclusion in the year that they commence.