Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the energy profits levy on investor confidence in the North Sea energy sector.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Energy Profits Levy is a temporary measure, the revenues from which will help to provide vital support for households facing cost of living pressures.
The government expects the combination of the Levy and its investment allowance to lead to an overall increase in investment.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the super deduction to unincorporated businesses.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The super-deduction is available only to incorporated businesses subject to the charge of UK corporation tax.
The Government has no plans to extend the super-deduction to unincorporated businesses.
Unincorporated businesses can continue to claim 100% relief on qualifying investments in plant and machinery through the Annual Investment Allowance, which will remain at its highest ever level of £1 million until the end of 2021.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department has allocated to the Scottish Government to support local authorities with local covid-19 lockdowns.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
To help the Scottish Government manage their coronavirus response, the UK government made an unprecedented upfront funding guarantee on 24 July. This guarantees the Scottish Government will receive at least £6.5bn in additional resource funding this year on top of the funding set out at the Spring Budget.
Since matters of local government are a devolved responsibility, it is for the Scottish Government to decide how much of this funding they use to support Scottish local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including directors of small and medium limited companies who draw their income through dividends in eligibility for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Those who pay themselves a salary through their own company are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The CJRS is available to employers, including owner-managers, and individuals paying themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible. Where furloughed directors, including companies with a sole director, need to carry out particular duties to fulfil their statutory obligations, they may do so provided it is no more than would reasonably be judged necessary for that purpose.
Dividends are not covered by the CJRS or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages. Under current reporting mechanisms it is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, and between dividends in lieu of employment income and as returns from other corporate activity.
The Government has worked with stakeholders and carefully considered the case for providing a new system for those who pay themselves through dividends. However, targeting additional support for those who pay their wages via dividends is much more complex than existing income support schemes. Unlike announced support schemes, which use information HMRC already holds, it would require owner-managers to make a claim and submit information that HMRC could not efficiently or consistently verify to ensure payments were made to eligible companies, for eligible activity.
The Government has heard the suggestion made that HMRC could adopt a ‘pay now, claw back later’ approach. However, such an approach would be highly resource-intensive to ensure appropriate compliance, and there is a high risk that incorrect or fraudulent payments could not be recovered, ultimately at the cost of UK taxpayers.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has said there will be no further extension or changes to the SEISS or CJRS. However, other support is available. The CJRS and SEISS continue to be just two elements of a comprehensive package of support for individuals and businesses. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC staff employed in offices undergoing closure as part of departmental restructuring will be entitled to the full 21 months compensation despite delays in those closures.
Answered by Jesse Norman
All exit schemes in Government departments must be launched using the Government’s Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) terms in place at that time. The current CSCS terms are capped at a maximum of 21 months’ pay for those aged under 60 and a maximum of 6 months’ pay for those aged 60 or over.
In September 2017, the Government launched a consultation which proposed changes to the current 2010 CSCS, in line with the HM Treasury framework for exit schemes across the public sector. The Cabinet Office has recently confirmed an extension to the 2010 terms until 31 March 2020 which guarantees those terms for anyone who signs up to an exit package by that date.
HMRC continue to work closely with the Cabinet Office on the progress of the consultation and will continue to do so in order to seek to provide clarity for those people affected by HMRC’s transformation programme. The progress of the consultation is reviewed regularly and at this time, it is not known what the changes may be, or if and when they will be introduced.
For HMRC, exits are always a last resort and HMRC are committed to looking for redeployment opportunities and supporting people to find other roles in the Civil Service. In line with the 2016 Cabinet Office Redundancy Protocols, an exit scheme will only be considered once other options have been exhausted and there is no alternative.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have benefited from the Help to Buy ISA in (a) north east Scotland and (b) West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine; and what the cost to the public purse was of that policy in those areas since the introduction of that scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We do not hold Help to Buy: ISA data specifically for the North East of Scotland or West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. However, since the introduction of the scheme, the number of First Time Buyers that have benefitted from the Help to Buy: ISA in Scotland is 20,921, with 629 being in Aberdeenshire. The value of the bonuses paid to help people onto the housing ladder in Scotland is £23,230,645 and of this, £738,986 worth of bonuses were paid in Aberdeenshire.This information is available in the Help to Buy: ISA accompanying tables as of March 2019 available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-isa-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2015-to-march-2019
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to hold discussions with the Scottish Government on economic growth in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with the Scottish Government on matters of importance to both the Scottish and UK economies, and plan to have further discussions in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on introducing a transferable tax history mechanism for oil producers for deals that complete on or after 1 November 2018.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, the government will introduce a Transferable Tax History for oil & gas companies. This will give investors in UK oil and gas fields certainty that they will be able to get tax relief for decommissioning assets, and encourage new investment.
This mechanism will be available for deals where the transfer of the licence has been approved by the Oil & Gas Authority on or after 1 November 2018. This was set out in “An outline of transferable tax history”, published alongside the Budget:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-outline-of-transferrable-tax-history
Draft legislation will be published in the next couple of months for technical consultation.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to meet with representatives of the Scottish Government to discuss economic growth in (a) Scotland and (b) UK.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HM Treasury regularly engages with Scottish Government ministers through a number of forums, including the Finance Ministers’ Quadrilateral and the Joint Exchequer Committee process.
The UK Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the UK. At Autumn Budget 2017, Scotland benefitted from a £2 billion boost to the Scottish Government’s budget and further targeted support. This included introducing a Transferable Tax History mechanism, which will encourage new investment in the oil industry, and opening negotiations for a Borderlands Growth Deal. The Prime Minister also recently announced the UK Government would formally begin talks for an Ayrshire Growth Deal.
To date, the UK Government has committed almost £1 billion to Scottish City Deals and will continue to support the Tay Cities and Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Deals announced at Spring Budget 2017.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the taxation policies of the (a) Government and (b) Scottish Government on economic growth.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Scottish Government has had control over all rates and thresholds of non-savings, non-dividends income tax in Scotland since April 2017. It is for the Scottish Government to decide how to use their tax powers to support the Scottish economy.
This Government will continue to operate a balanced approach between returning the public finances to a sustainable position while helping households and businesses, supporting our world class public services, and investing in Britain’s future. This has allowed us to cut the corporation tax to the lowest in the G20 and raise the personal allowance, saving a typical basic rate taxpayer over £1000 a year compared to 2010, and taking 1.2 million people out of income tax altogether.
This has supported the strong economy: the deficit has been cut by three quarters from its peak and there are over 3 million more people in employment since 2010.