Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it Government policy that businesses which voluntarily repay furlough payments to the Government are not subject to tax on those payments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Voluntary repayments of furlough grants are already not subject to tax because repayment is predicated on the business acknowledging that they are not entitled to the grant and will not be taxed on returning it. A business is only liable to be taxed on a furlough grant if such a business retains a grant to which it is not entitled. A business which informs HMRC of its erroneous claims or overclaims within the notification period and which voluntarily repays the grant will not be taxed on the grant.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his 10 July 2020 guidance to employers on individuals for whom they can claim wages who are not employees was not issued before that date; and what estimate he has made of the number of new eligible claimants.
Answered by Jesse Norman
On 10 July 2020, the guidance to employers on individuals they could claim for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was relocated within GOV.UK and the structure was updated to improve clarity.
There were no substantive content changes and therefore there has been no change in eligibility.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library a copy of his response to the letter dated 5 June signed by over five hundred coach operators on the classification of the coach travel industry as leisure businesses for the purposes of covid-19 support; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Treasury is considering the letter from the coach travel industry and will reply as soon as possible.
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Coach companies, along with other businesses, may benefit from a range of support measures including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
The Government has also provided enhanced support through business rates relief to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. It is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the Government.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to extend the small business rates relief for covid-19 to (a) independent mortgage advisors (b) private dental practices and (c) small veterinary practices; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is providing funding for Local Authorities to support small businesses that benefit from small business rates relief (SBRR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 per property in receipt of these reliefs, to help meet their continuing business costs. There is no restriction on the type of small business which may be eligible.
In addition to these grants, small businesses may also be able to benefit from the new Discretionary Grant Fund announced by the Government on 1 May. The Government has provided up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to make grants payments to businesses which are facing high fixed property-related costs, but have been excluded from the existing grants schemes because of the way they are treated by the business rates system. Local Authorities are responsible for defining precise eligibility for these funds, and businesses will need to apply to their Local Authority in order to receive grants. Businesses which think they may be eligible for a discretionary grant should contact their Local Authority.
Businesses not eligible for grant funding have access to other support measures which the Government has introduced, including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply: https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons mortgage consultancy firms do not qualify for the same treatment in respect of business rates relief as estate agents during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, has also been made available.
The Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, as well as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank. The Government is also deferring VAT payments for this quarter.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it his Department's policy that UK businesses engaged in financial services should be able to trade with organisations in Iraq and receive payments for their services through the UK taxation system; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is committed to ensuring the UK continues to be a leading global financial centre – at the forefront of innovation, with a strong, resilient, and competitive financial sector, underpinned by world leading regulatory standards and open to global markets.
Where appropriate, the UN and the EU can impose targeted sanctions regimes. There is currently an Iraq sanctions regime, with targeted assets freezes against several individuals and entities. These regimes apply to UK businesses and citizens; details of those subject to sanctions can be found on the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation Consolidated List of asset freeze targets at www.gov.uk/ofsi.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) British citizens and (b) UK companies trading with companies in Iraq are able to obtain and use UK banks for the receipt of payments from Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is committed to ensuring the UK continues to be a leading global financial centre – at the forefront of innovation, with a strong, resilient, and competitive financial sector, underpinned by world leading regulatory standards and open to global markets.
Where appropriate, the UN and the EU can impose targeted sanctions regimes. There is currently an Iraq sanctions regime, with targeted assets freezes against several individuals and entities. These regimes apply to UK businesses and citizens; details of those subject to sanctions can be found on the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation Consolidated List of asset freeze targets at www.gov.uk/ofsi.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 amended by the Enterprise Act 2016, what estimate he has made of the cost to the pubic purse in each year of the delay in the implementation of the £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The annual Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) publications contain the cost of exit packages made by public sector employers in scope of WGA for the relevant financial year.
The Government legislated for a £95,000 cap on exit payments in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 as amended by the Enterprise Act 2016. The combined total cost of exit payments over £100,000 in financial years since then (2016/17 and 2017/18) is £0.4 billion. The exit payment cap will reduce this amount by setting a limit of £95,000 on payments. Information on the 2018/19 financial year is not yet available.
HM Treasury consulted on regulations implementing the £95,000 cap last year. The Government intends to publish its response to the consultation by Summer and the regulations will be laid before Parliament this year.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what improvements have been made to the HMRC Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool to ensure that it meets the needs of the private sector; and what proportion of the resulting checks will be full and accurate.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) digital service was first released in March 2017. It helps customers apply the off-payroll working rules correctly.
Following feedback from customers and stakeholders, HMRC released an enhanced version of the service on 25 November 2019. HMRC worked with over 300 stakeholders to identify and test the enhancements to ensure the service meets customer needs. These enhancements include making the questions and the results clearer, increasing the number of questions to provide a more thorough assessment and building in features to reduce user errors.
Improvements have also been made to language and presentation, and HMRC have added guidance to ensure questions are clearly understood. CEST is accurate. It has been tested rigorously against known case law and settled cases. HMRC stand by its results if it is used in accordance with HMRC guidance and the facts put into CEST are correct.
CEST currently provides an employment status determination for tax purposes in around 85% of uses, all bar the most complex or finely balanced cases. For these more complex cases, HMRC provide detailed guidance and dedicated support.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to make it the policy of National Savings & Investments to enable Premium Bond prize winners to have their prizes credited to their bank accounts by BACS irrespective of whether they have an email address as well as a postal address; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
National Savings & Investments (‘NS&I’) is required by regulations to notify its customers of their Premium Bond prizes. This ensures that customers are updated on their savings and are reassured around the security of their investments.
NS&I notify its customers of their Premium Bond prizes by email, text message or post. Customers can also check whether they have won on the NS&I website, prize checker app or Alexa Skill. NS&I customers have the choice to receive their prizes either directly via BACS payments or by post. Since November 2019, NS&I also offers BACS payments of prizes to customers who have registered their UK mobile phone number with its online and phone service.
Additional support is offered to certain groups, including older and disabled people with additional needs. Under this process, such customers can opt to receive their Premium Bond prizes through BACS without needing an e-mail address.