Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove VAT from all personal protection equipment.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
A temporary zero-rate of VAT will apply to sales of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for protection from COVID-19 from 1 May 2020 until 31 July 2020.
The temporary relief is being introduced as an urgent response to the coronavirus emergency. Its main objective is to relieve businesses, particularly in the healthcare and residential care sectors, of the burden of tax on essential infection protection equipment needed to deal with the emergency.
The measure will allow VAT-free supplies of PPE to reach the widest possible range of businesses, charities and individuals.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of employers, with annual wage bills of £3 million or more, pay 0.5 per cent of their staff costs as part of the Apprenticeship Levy; and for whose who do not, what steps they are taking to make them do so.
Answered by Lord Bates
From April 2017, every employer with an annual pay bill of over £3 million is liable to pay the apprenticeship levy, at a rate of 0.5% of their pay bill, less an annual allowance of £15,000.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has conducted an extensive communication campaign with payroll professionals and larger employers to ensure they were ready to pay the levy which has been successful. This is reflected in the level of receipts of the apprenticeship levy of £1.6 billion for the period May 2017 to December 2017.
HMRC is contacting those employers who they believe are likely to have a levy liability in 2017-18, but have not yet provided the relevant information on their PAYE returns.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in response to the recently introduced taxes on sugary drinks by the governments of Mexico, France, Finland and Hungary.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government has no plans to introduce new taxes on sugary drinks. The Government is committed to using a range of approaches to promote health outcomes, and will publish a Childhood Obesity Strategy by the end of the year.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to introduce a tourist levy or tax in London to help local councils offset reductions in funding from the Exchequer.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The Government has no plans to allow any Local Authority to introduce a tourist levy or tax.