Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cloud services contracts that were previously delivered by British cloud services providers for the HM Treasury are now delivered by multinational cloud service providers; what is the value of those contracts; and what are the names of the previous providers.
Answered by Lord Bates
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of HM Treasury's data is hosted (1) in the UK, and (2) overseas.
Answered by Lord Bates
Over 99.9% of HMT data is hosted in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to reform capital gains taxation for the digital currency sector.
Answered by Lord Bates
Gains made on digital currency are currently chargeable at the normal Capital Gains Tax rates, depending on the facts of the case. The government keeps all tax policy under review.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to bring forward proposals to bring digital currency exchanges under money laundering regulations.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is currently negotiating amendments to the 4th Money Laundering Directive that we expect to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers into the scope of Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing regulation. This will require such firms to conduct due diligence upon their customers, with their activities being overseen by national competent authorities for these areas. The government supports the intention behind these amendments. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level in late 2017/early 2018.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to allow UK taxpayers to pay their taxes in digital currency.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Revenue and Customs does not offer digital currencies as a payment method and has no current plans to do so.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make running a virtual digital currency exchange a supervised business.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is currently negotiating amendments to the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive that we expect to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers into the scope of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing regulation. This will require such firms to conduct due diligence upon their customers, with their activities being overseen by national competent authorities for these areas. The government supports the intention behind these amendments. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level in late 2017/early 2018.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to examine (1) the regulatory framework for digital currencies, and (2) the policies of the UK banking sector towards the providers of digital currencies and their employees.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government keeps all policy under review. The Government is currently negotiating amendments to the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive that we expect to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers into the scope of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing regulation. This will require such firms to conduct due diligence upon their customers, with their activities being overseen by national competent authorities for these areas. The government supports the intention behind these amendments. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level in late 2017/early 2018. The stance of individual firms towards providers of digital currencies is a commercial decision for those firms, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene.
Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority issued a consumer warning about the risks of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). It advised consumers to be conscious of the risks involved (including the possible lack of regulation and investor protection, price volatility and potential for fraud) and to fully research the project before investing. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also noted that whether an ICO falls within the FCA’s regulatory boundaries or not can only be decided case by case.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many businesses are likely to be affected by the introduction of the flat rate for limited cost businesses in the VAT Flat Rate Scheme; and what estimate they have made of the proportion of these that are operated by self-employed individuals.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Of the 411,000 businesses that use the VAT Flat Rate Scheme (FRS), we estimate that 128,000 have limited costs. We have not estimated how many of these businesses are operated by self-employed individuals. Of the FRS population as a whole, around 87% are incorporated companies, 11% are sole proprietors and 2% are partnerships.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work is being undertaken by HM Treasury in respect of bitcoin and other digital currencies in the context of the speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 6 August; and what consultation has taken place with the UK Digital Currency Association, as the representative body of those United Kingdom businesses engaged with digital currency.
Answered by Lord Deighton
On 6 August, the Chancellor announced a major programme of work looking into digital currencies and associated technologies, with a particular focus on whether they should be regulated. The Government is now considering the benefits offered by digital currencies and the technology that underpins them, and whether it should take action to support innovation in this area. At the same time, the Government is examining the risks presented by digital currencies, and assessing whether action is required to mitigate any concerns. The Government is engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including the UK Digital Currency Association, as part of this work.