Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by Gareth Davies
HM Treasury is unable to confirm these details, in line with paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6933 on National Insurance Contributions: Software, if he will make an estimate of (a) how many (i) payroll software developers and (ii) employers were unable to make the necessary changes to implement the changes to National Insurance contributions announced at the Autumn Statement 2023 on time and (b) how much resulting customer refunds will be.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs) which were announced in Autumn Statement 2023, HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tool went live as planned on 3 January and is available for download on gov.uk.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6933 on National Insurance Contributions: Software, if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of employers have implemented the changes to National Insurance contributions announced in the Autumn Statement 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs) which were announced in Autumn Statement 2023, HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tool went live as planned on 3 January and is available for download on gov.uk.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6933 on National Insurance Contributions: Software, whether an updated version of HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools was available to download from gov.uk by 6 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs) which were announced in Autumn Statement 2023, HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tool went live as planned on 3 January and is available for download on gov.uk.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of individuals who will be eligible for a refund for overpayment of national insurance contributions at the end of the current financial year as a result of their employer being unable to update their payroll systems in time to implement changes to national insurance contributions that come into effect on 6 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the Autumn Statement 2023 announcement of changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs), HMRC are working closely with software developers and employers to ensure they have a clear understanding of the changes and to ensure HMRC is doing everything necessary to facilitate delivery of those changes, including engaging regularly with the industry. Technical specifications were provided at pace following the announcement, and HMRC’s engagement with the industry to date has indicated that the majority of payroll software developers and employers will be able to make the changes on time. HMRC will continue to engage with the industry to monitor the progress being made to implement the changes, and any implications for the volume of customer refunds.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill. This is available on GOV.UK.
HMRC is confident that its own Basic PAYE Tools (for use by employers with 9 or less employees) will be updated in time, and the updated product is expected to be available to download via gov.uk by 6th January 2024.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timetable is for completion of HMRC’s update of its basic pay as you earn tools to enable small employers who use HMRC’s software for their payroll system to implement changes to national insurance contributions that come into effect on 6 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the Autumn Statement 2023 announcement of changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs), HMRC are working closely with software developers and employers to ensure they have a clear understanding of the changes and to ensure HMRC is doing everything necessary to facilitate delivery of those changes, including engaging regularly with the industry. Technical specifications were provided at pace following the announcement, and HMRC’s engagement with the industry to date has indicated that the majority of payroll software developers and employers will be able to make the changes on time. HMRC will continue to engage with the industry to monitor the progress being made to implement the changes, and any implications for the volume of customer refunds.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill. This is available on GOV.UK.
HMRC is confident that its own Basic PAYE Tools (for use by employers with 9 or less employees) will be updated in time, and the updated product is expected to be available to download via gov.uk by 6th January 2024.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of (i) payroll software developers and (ii) employers that will be unable to change their systems in time to implement changes to national insurance contributions coming into effect on 6 January 2024 and (b) number of employees who will be affected as a result.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the Autumn Statement 2023 announcement of changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs), HMRC are working closely with software developers and employers to ensure they have a clear understanding of the changes and to ensure HMRC is doing everything necessary to facilitate delivery of those changes, including engaging regularly with the industry. Technical specifications were provided at pace following the announcement, and HMRC’s engagement with the industry to date has indicated that the majority of payroll software developers and employers will be able to make the changes on time. HMRC will continue to engage with the industry to monitor the progress being made to implement the changes, and any implications for the volume of customer refunds.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill. This is available on GOV.UK.
HMRC is confident that its own Basic PAYE Tools (for use by employers with 9 or less employees) will be updated in time, and the updated product is expected to be available to download via gov.uk by 6th January 2024.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the capacity of employers to implement the changes to national insurance contributions coming into effect on 6 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Following the Autumn Statement 2023 announcement of changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs), HMRC are working closely with software developers and employers to ensure they have a clear understanding of the changes and to ensure HMRC is doing everything necessary to facilitate delivery of those changes, including engaging regularly with the industry. Technical specifications were provided at pace following the announcement, and HMRC’s engagement with the industry to date has indicated that the majority of payroll software developers and employers will be able to make the changes on time. HMRC will continue to engage with the industry to monitor the progress being made to implement the changes, and any implications for the volume of customer refunds.
HMRC provided its assessment of the impacts of the changes on businesses via a Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Bill. This is available on GOV.UK.
HMRC is confident that its own Basic PAYE Tools (for use by employers with 9 or less employees) will be updated in time, and the updated product is expected to be available to download via gov.uk by 6th January 2024.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Questions 5901, 5897 and 5898, on what evidential basis his Department determined that an average worker in 2024-25 will pay more than £1,000 less in personal taxes than they otherwise would have done; and if he will publish those calculations.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The calculations underlying this statistic are based on public information, including a published estimate of average earnings. They are robust and could be replicate by an external analyst.
Further details are provided in my answer of 12 December to PQ UIN 5898.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contributions of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 22 November 2023, Official Report, column 360, and 30 November 2023, Official Report, column 1087, what calculations his Department has used to estimate that taxes for the average worker will have reduced by £1,000 since 2010.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Thanks to the cut to employee National Insurance contributions (NICs) announced at the Autumn Statement and to above-inflation increases to starting thresholds since 2010, an average worker in 24-25 will pay over £1,000 less in personal taxes than they otherwise would have done.
The calculations underlying this statistic are based on public information, including a published estimate of average earnings. They are robust and could be replicated by an external analyst.
The calculations are on a same-year basis against a counterfactual, to isolate the effect of policy changes on tax liabilities. Comparisons over time would include the effects of earnings growth on cash totals of tax due, given the progressive personal tax system. It is straightforward to calculate how much the average worker paid in personal taxes in each financial year since 2010-11 using published information.