Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing the tax regulations for Sharia-compliant mortgages in line with conventional mortgages.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to the continued strength of the UK Islamic Finance sector, both as an important part of the UK’s overall financial ecosystem and as an instrument of financial inclusion.
The alternative finance tax rules aim to provide a level playing field for tax purposes across alternative and conventional financing arrangements.
On 16 January 2024, HM Treasury published a consultation proposing changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rules that apply to alternative finance arrangements. The proposed changes seek to amend those rules so that where property is used as collateral for the purposes of raising finance, the CGT outcome is the same whether alternative finance or conventional finance is used. The consultation also asked whether there are any implications for capital allowances. The consultation closed on 9 April 2024 and the Government is considering responses. Next steps will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Tax Simplification for Alternative Finance, which closed 9 April 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to the continued strength of the UK Islamic Finance sector, both as an important part of the UK’s overall financial ecosystem and as an instrument of financial inclusion.
The alternative finance tax rules aim to provide a level playing field for tax purposes across alternative and conventional financing arrangements.
On 16 January 2024, HM Treasury published a consultation proposing changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rules that apply to alternative finance arrangements. The proposed changes seek to amend those rules so that where property is used as collateral for the purposes of raising finance, the CGT outcome is the same whether alternative finance or conventional finance is used. The consultation also asked whether there are any implications for capital allowances. The consultation closed on 9 April 2024 and the Government is considering responses. Next steps will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a list of the ten largest exporters of goods in each region of the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria and download bulk datasets.
Under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a statutory duty of confidentiality to protect the information it holds about taxpayers. As a result, it is not possible to confirm the ten largest exporters of goods in each region of the UK without the request identifying information relating to an individual taxpayer or taxpayers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of increasing Official Development Assistance funding for the Prosperity Fund.
Answered by John Glen
The cross-government Prosperity Fund operated between 2016 and 2021 to promote the inclusive economic growth needed to reduce poverty in partner countries, whilst contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Fund was closed on the 31 March 2021, with residual programming and funding instead moving to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
UK remains a champion for the international development agenda and a major donor globally. In 2022 the UK was the third largest development donor in the G7 as a percentage of Gross National Income, spending nearly £12.8 billion on aid. UK ODA, together with our business, trade, civil society, research and technology expertise, continues to support some of the world’s most vulnerable people and contributes to our prosperity and security by addressing key global challenges and strengthening our international partnerships.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2022 to Question 82307 on Car Allowances, if his Department will publish the findings of the most recent quarterly review of advisory fuel rates.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) apply when an employer reimburses an employee for business travel in a company car, or when an employee reimburses their employer for the cost of fuel used for private travel.
The AFRs are reviewed every quarter and reflect average miles per gallon (MPG) for vehicle types (calculated from manufacturers’ information, taking into account annual sales to businesses), combined with the latest petrol and diesel prices.
AFRs were last reviewed and updated on 1 December 2022 and the detail of current rates can be found on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advisory-fuel-rates
AFRs are not mandatory, and employers and employees can agree to use different rates to reflect scenarios in which a car is more fuel efficient or where the fuel cost per mile of business travel is higher. Where an employer pays a rate higher than the published AFRs, no tax charge will arise if the employee is able to demonstrate there is no profit element.
AFRs are next due to be reviewed by HMRC on 1 March 2023.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy on (a) clean energy producers and (b) encouraging energy producers to produce clean energy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35% and will last until 31 March 2028. The Levy applies to profits earned by companies from the production of oil and gas in the UK or on the UK Continental Shelf.
The government has been clear it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new investment allowance, ensuring that for every £1 an oil and gas company spends, they can claim around 91p in tax relief for most types of investment expenditure.
For every £100 an oil and gas company invests to decarbonise upstream oil and gas production, they will be able to deduct £109.25 when calculating their levy profits. This provides an immediate and significant fiscal incentive to reinvest profits in the UK.
Since the levy is targeted at the extraordinary profits from oil and gas upstream activities, any relief for investment must also be related to oil and gas upstream activities. Therefore, tax relief is only available in relation to expenditure incurred for activity that is charged under the oil and gas ring fence corporation tax regime. For other investments, such as renewables, companies will continue to be able to claim relief for their investments from the Corporation Tax they pay.
In addition, the government is taking significant action to encourage investment in renewable energy generation in the UK, including committing £30 billion to support the domestic green industrial revolution from March 2021 to the end of 2027-28.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to tackle increases in the cost of living.
Answered by John Glen
The government understands how the rising cost of living is making life harder for people. These are global challenges however, as set out in the Spring Statement, the government is providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with these pressures.
For example, a typical family with 2 children where one adult is on the average employee salary and the other works 16 hours at the NLW will be around than £3,000 a year better off as a result of recent government action, notably the NICs primary threshold change, UC taper rate and work allowance changes, and increase in the National Living Wage, even taking account the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to increase the Tax Free Child Care cap in response to the rising cost of childcare.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has no plans to increase the cap in Tax Free Childcare.
Tax Free Childcare (TFC) is a generous scheme which provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child aged up to 11, and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they’re 17.
In addition, all three- and four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, regardless of circumstance. Eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds can also access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week, also known as 30 hours free childcare. Moreover, Universal Credit (UC) claimants are able to claim up to 85% of their childcare costs.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to offer a VAT reduction to owners of electric vehicles who charge their cars at public charging points.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home, attracts the 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. However, electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard 20 per cent rate of VAT.
Expanding the existing relief would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.
Although there are no current plans to change the VAT treatment of electricity supplied at public EV charge points, the Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles to help the UK meet its net-zero obligations. The Government has committed £3.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, which funds targeted vehicle grants and the rollout of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what private companies are contracted to provide security services at his Department’s buildings that contain Ministerial private offices; and whether there are closed circuit television cameras in any Ministerial private offices within his Department's estate.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.