Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What fiscal steps he is taking to grow the digital economy.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK's digital economy is thriving - growing ten times as fast as the wider economy - and we are pursuing a range of measures to reinforce its world-leading position. These include:
We are also embracing the opportunities presented by Distributed Ledger Technologies, including by:
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when small businesses will be able to automate the payment to HMRC of National Insurance and PAYE for employees.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HMRC currently enables employers to pay their PAYE/NIC liability by Direct Debit. Guidance on how to do this can be found on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/pay-paye-tax/direct-debit.
Employers can currently only make single Direct Debit payments, meaning they must set up a payment each time they pay. This is because the amount owed can include elements which do not have to be reported to HMRC until too close to the payment deadline to allow us to automatically collect by Direct Debit.
HMRC recognises the benefits of payment by Direct Debit and will continue to look at how to enable customers to set up ongoing Direct Debit arrangements.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2018 to Question 128296 on Brexit, if he will provide an update on (a) the potential use of distributed ledger technology for any new customs system after the UK leaves the EU and (b) the outcome of the proof of concept trials referenced in the Answer.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The pilot focussed on building a single ‘permissioned’ Blockchain that could be used to inform a trader’s ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ status. The proof of concept ran for six weeks, and established that government could use Blockchain to securely share the results of sensitive risk checks to improve the efficiencies of certain customs processes.
Any significant implementation of Blockchain would require significant further work by HMRC. Further work on the application of Blockchain to ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ status is deferred until after the UK leaves the EU when timescales and cost will be revisited.
We are working with the cross government Future Borders Programme to progress the pilot as part of their Trusted Trader initiative
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) fiscal and (b) regulatory steps his Department is taking to (i) support UK and (ii) encourage overseas blockchain and crypto-based companies establish themselves in the UK.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has invested over £10 million through Innovate UK and the research councils to support a wide variety of DLT related projects. The Government has also created a £20 million GovTech Catalyst Fund to explore technology-based solutions for public sector challenges, potentially including the use of DLT.
The Government set out its approach to cryptoassets and the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the report of the Cryptoassets Taskforce[1]. The Government wants to encourage responsible development of legitimate distributed ledger technology (DLT) and cryptoasset-related activity in the UK, while also mitigating risks.
The financial regulators continue to provide a platform that facilitates innovation and the development of new technologies in the financial system. For example, the Financial Conduct Authority has accepted a significant number of DLT-based projects into its Regulatory Sandbox. The Bank of England has also committed to ensure that its new RTGS service will be compatible with DLT-based payment systems.
[1] The full report of the HM Treasury/Financial Conduct Authority/Bank of England Cryptoassets Taskforce is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752070/cryptoassets_taskforce_final_report_final_web.pdf
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of using blockchain for (a) the tax system and (b) the customs and excise system; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HM Revenue and Customs are considering the use of blockchain alongside other technical options for both tax and customs and excise systems.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of using distributed ledger technology for any new customs system after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
HMRC are actively considering the use of distributed ledger technologies alongside other technical options for both tax and the Customs and Excise systems. The department is currently running a proof of concept exercise in support of one of their Customs initiatives and will provide further updates as this work progresses.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of tax that professional football clubs have paid on player transfers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The information requested cannot be provided as it is not collated centrally by HMRC. Football transfer fees are subject to VAT according to the normal rules. Any profits made by football clubs are subject to Corporation Tax in the usual way. Payments made to players as part of their transfer, such as signing-on fees, are taxable as earnings.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has been made of the risks to the UK economy of the potential failure of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established by the Government, aims to ensure the UK financial system is resilient to, and prepared for, the wide range of risks it could face — so that the system could support the real economy, even in difficult conditions.
The Bank of England continues to monitor developments, and provided its latest assessment of the risks to financial stability in the Financial Stability Report, published in November 2017.
In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stated that it will continue to monitor distributed ledger technology (DLT)-related market developments, working collaboratively with industry, HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the Information Commissioner’s Office, and other UK bodies to ensure a coordinated approach towards DLT in the UK.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies in the UK.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government has not made any formal assessment of the value to the UK of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
The government is currently negotiating amendments to the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive which will extend regulation to virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers. These amendments will enable competent authorities to ensure these firms are mitigating the risks regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, and enable the legitimate sector to grow. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level by early 2018, with a year for Member States to then implement the Directive.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has been made of the value to the UK economy of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government has not made any formal assessment of the value to the UK of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
The government is currently negotiating amendments to the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive which will extend regulation to virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers. These amendments will enable competent authorities to ensure these firms are mitigating the risks regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, and enable the legitimate sector to grow. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level by early 2018, with a year for Member States to then implement the Directive.