Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to review proposals to tax pickup trucks as personal vehicles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Double Cab Pick Up vehicles (DCPUs) have in the past been treated as goods vehicles for tax purposes, rather than cars. Following a judgement by the Court of Appeal, DCPUs must be treated as cars, rather than goods vehicles, for certain tax purposes, based on their primary suitability.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the government had to make difficult decisions, and in the given fiscal situation was not willing to legislate to change this treatment and provide a significant tax break worth hundreds of millions per year for these vehicles.
The transitional arrangements put in place meant that this would not affect the capital allowances treatment of any business that already owned a DCPU, or that purchased one before April 2025; and businesses that purchase or have purchased a DCPU after this date will still be able to deduct the cost from their taxable profits at 18% or 6% per year. Under the transitional arrangements for Benefit-in-Kind treatment, anyone who accessed a DCPU before 6 April 2025 will not be impacted until the sooner of disposal of the vehicle, 5 April 2029 or when their lease expires.
In addition, there are alternatives to DCPUs (such as Single Cab Pick Ups, or 4x4 vans) that are still treated as goods vehicles.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to reintroduce measures to increase tax on higher polluting vehicles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. As announced by the Government at Autumn Statement 2022, from April 2025, zero emission and hybrid cars, vans and motorcycles will begin to pay VED in a similar way to petrol and diesel vehicles.
While first year rates for zero emission cars have been frozen at £10 until 2029/30, rates for the most polluting vehicles that emit over 76mg/km have doubled.
In addition, at Autumn Budget 2024 the government announced Company Car Tax rates will continue to strongly incentivise the take-up of electric vehicles. Appropriate Percentages (APs) for all vehicle bands above 50 g/km will increase by 1 percentage point per year in 2028-29 and 2029-30. The maximum AP will also increase by 1 percentage point per year to 38% for 2028-2029 and 39% for 2029-2030.
Revenue from motoring taxes helps ensure we can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will provide an update on when HM Revenue & Customs will restart processing IHT30 clearance requests.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC have not stopped processing IHT30 clearance requests. HMRC have prioritised the processing of IHT400 forms to minimise any delays for customers applying for probate through HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and this has meant that some IHT30 requests are currently being processed outside of service standard.
HMRC have trained and are recruiting more staff in this area so that they can reduce wait times
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to reduce the rate of VAT for the hospitality and tourism sector.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
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. The exceptional VAT relief for tourism and hospitality during the Covid-19 pandemic cost over £8 billion. The Government has no current plans to change the VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sector.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to increase taxation on (a) higher-polluting vehicles and (b) tax pickup trucks used for personal purposes as private vehicles.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government uses the tax system to support a variety of objectives including our legally binding climate targets, including the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced changes to the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) first year rates from 1 April 2025, to introduce higher rates for hybrid and petrol/diesel vehicles for 2025-26, and freeze the rate for zero emission vehicles until 2029-30.
The Budget also announced new company car tax rates for 2028-29 and 2029-30, which gradually increase the rates for both petrol/diesel and electric vehicles whilst restricting incentives for hybrid vehicles, which research has shown are over three times more polluting than previously thought.
Cars are treated according to their emissions under the capital allowances system; and company cars made available for private use are also taxed according to their CO2 emissions under the benefit in kind regime.
From April 2025 this includes some pick-up trucks such as double cab pick-ups and extended cab pick-ups. These vehicles will be charged a higher rate for the benefit in kind, and be eligible for lower capital allowances reflecting their generally higher emissions.