Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what mitigating guidance HMRC provides to its staff on informing businesses when a case cannot be allocated to a caseworker within the expected timescale.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC normally contacts a business about a compliance check once a case has been allocated to a caseworker and the check is ready to commence. Accordingly, there is generally no requirement for specific guidance on informing customers that a case has not yet been allocated.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will release figures on the average processing times for VAT repayment claims from newly registered businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Identifying which VAT registrations should be considered new, isolating them from those which are not, and reporting the associated average repayment processing times would require significant manual resource to extract and reconcile data from multiple systems, and so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential revenue raised by introducing a voluntary discounted settlement scheme for Plan 2 student loan borrowers whose loans are not projected to be repaid in full.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
One of the fundamental principles of student loans is that repayments are income contingent and only due when the borrower is earning over the relevant repayment threshold. Outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. These protections exceed what discounted settlement schemes typically offer to borrowers.
Borrowers already have the ability to make additional, voluntary repayments towards their student loan, with no penalty, if they wish to do so.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an a) reduced and b) zero rate of VAT for recognised preventative health services.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.
The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring that the VAT of independent gyms reflects their contribution to public health.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.
The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the VAT arrangements applying to a) fitness and b) physical activity services.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving people’s health, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.
The leisure and fitness sector play an important role in supporting the Government’s sickness to prevention shift through providing affordable and accessible opportunities for people to increase their activity levels.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses often only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will consider the potential merits of undertaking a review of the rate of interest paid to businesses on delayed VAT refunds.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Interest rates on unpaid and overpaid tax are set by legislation approved by Parliament. The legislation specifies formulae which set the rates and the formulae link HMRC rates to the prevailing Bank of England base rate.
The harmonised interest regime provides a set of rules that applies to all taxes and duties and ensures that interest is consistently and automatically charged and paid in all cases where amounts are paid late or where amounts have been overpaid.