Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the outcome to the consultation The new alcohol duty system, which ran from 27 October 2021 to 30 January 2022, has met the stated core principles by making the system (1) simpler, (2) more economically rational, and (3) less administratively burdensome on businesses.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcohol products was introduced in August 2023 by the previous Government.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect. This will allow time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data with which to evaluate the impacts.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to either (1) extending, or (2) making permanent, the wine temporary easement period in order to meet the core principles outlined in The new alcohol duty system consultation, which ran from 27 October 2021 to 30 January 2022, to make the alcohol duty system (a) simpler, (b) more economically rational, and (c) less administratively burdensome.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor and Exchequer Secretary regularly receive representations on the tax system from a wide range of stakeholders and welcome their views.
The current, temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 1 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of challenges of producing wine which is accurately and predictably within a range of 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) for the purposes of taxation, given that wine is an agricultural product and dependent on weather; and what assessment they have made of the impact of introducing alcohol duty bands of 0.5 per cent ABV on (1) businesses, and (2) the consumer.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor and Exchequer Secretary regularly receive representations on the tax system from a wide range of stakeholders and welcome their views.
The current, temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 1 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the proposed increase in the number of taxation bands for wine will reduce the administrative burden on the wine trade, as outlined in the consultation The new alcohol duty system, which ran from 27 October 2021 to 30 January 2022.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor and Exchequer Secretary regularly receive representations on the tax system from a wide range of stakeholders and welcome their views.
The current, temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 1 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to apply tariffs on imported wines and spirits after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
On 19 May, the Secretary of State for International Trade announced the UK Global Tariff[[1]] which will take effect on 1 January 2021. It set out the UK’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) import tariffs, including for wine and spirits, on GOV.UK. These are the tariffs that will apply to all imports unless there is a preferential trading arrangement in place.
Under the UK Global Tariff, import tariffs on wines and spirits will range from 0% to 40%, depending on the type of product. Within the 0-40% range, the average tariff will be around 8% on wine and approximately 1% on spirits. However, where a preferential trading arrangement is in place, for example a Free Trade Agreement, the tariffs will be lower and often 0%.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/check-tariffs-1-january-2021
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made, if any, on developing a new IT system for pre-lodgement for the wine trade to assist movement through roll-on roll-off ports after 31 December.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC’s IT delivery of the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is expected to be ready from January 2021.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that financial service companies who sell funds, shares and related products to retail investors in the UK return the cash from sales transactions to the client in a timely manner.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust framework for regulating financial services and that consumers are treated fairly.
Financial services firms are required to treat customers fairly under rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the FCA is responsible for overseeing the conduct standards of financial services firms. There are a range of FCA rules governing the timeliness of payments to consumers in relation to client money and investments.
Where investments are held in funds, FCA rules specify that an authorised fund manager must pay the proceeds of a redemption to the registered holder of the fund units within four business days. Where firms hold client assets, in general FCA rules require firms to pay money to clients within one business day after it becomes due and payable.
Where an investor holds fund units through a regulated platform provider, their interactions are determined by the terms and conditions of the platform provider’s client agreement with the investor. However, regulated platform providers are subject to FCA rules on treating customers fairly with regard to these terms and conditions, and any money held under the client money rules would be paid to the client within one business day as set out above.
It would not be possible for an investor to withdraw their assets from a fund if the fund has suspended dealing. FCA rules permit suspensions, which may last only for as long as is necessary to protect the interests of the investors in the fund. Suspensions can be a necessary safety feature which protects investors where the value of a fund’s assets cannot be known with sufficient certainty or where the fund would otherwise have to make sales at distressed market prices to service withdrawals.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have of tax avoidance being undertaken by secondary ticketing operators.
Answered by Lord Bates
This Government is clear that everyone has a responsibility to pay the tax that is owed. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot comment on individual cases, but it will investigate any allegations of wrongdoing brought to its attention. Since 2010, HMRC has generated more than £160 billion of additional yield from tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Paradise Papers reveal that the company I Want Ticket Inc was structured to avoid paying UK tax on ticket sales.
Answered by Lord Bates
This Government is clear that everyone has a responsibility to pay the tax that is owed. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot comment on individual cases, but it will investigate any allegations of wrongdoing brought to its attention. Since 2010, HMRC has generated more than £160 billion of additional yield from tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.