Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on (a) the nature of land use, (b) scale of the property and (c) value of the estate for which Agricultural Property Relief is claimed.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As with all taxes, the Government keeps changes to the inheritance tax regime, including agricultural property relief, under review.
Property must be both agricultural property and occupied for agricultural purposes to qualify for agricultural property relief. It is available in respect of agricultural land and pasture, including farmhouses and other buildings. Detailed information about the specific nature of land use from claims is not readily available and could only be obtained, compiled, and collated at disproportionate cost.
HMRC publishes annual information on agricultural property relief. This can be found on the GOV.UK Website here: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/inheritance-tax-statistics-table-122-exemptions-and-reliefs.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated cost of tax relief granted to Inheritance Tax under Business Property Relief was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The latest estimates of the cost of tax relief on Inheritance Tax relating to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief for 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 can be found in HMRC’s Non-structural tax reliefs publication available on the GOV.UK Website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated cost of relief granted to Inheritance Tax through Agricultural Property Relief was each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The latest estimates of the cost of tax relief on Inheritance Tax relating to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief for 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 can be found in HMRC’s Non-structural tax reliefs publication available on the GOV.UK Website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2023 to Question 170744, what data his Department holds on revenue accrued to the Exchequer in (a) inheritance tax, (b) capital gains tax, (c) tax on dividends and (d) vehicle excise duty from people domiciled in Scotland in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
While HMRC holds some of the data requested, it is not yet available for the 2021-22 financial year and could only be estimated at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for the next review of the agreement between the Scottish government and the UK government on the Scottish government’s fiscal framework.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK Government and Scottish Government have had positive discussions on the timetable for the Fiscal Framework review, and I most recently visited Edinburgh in February 2023 where I met with the then Deputy First Minister.
We look forward to continuing these talks once the new First Minister has appointed their Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has accrued to the Exchequer in (a) inheritance tax (b) capital gains tax (c) tax on dividends and (d) vehicle excise duty from people domiciled in Scotland in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Estimates of revenue raised from Scotland in the 2021-22 financial year can be found in the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland 2021-22 (www.gov.scot).
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to introduce (a) tax credits or (b) other forms of tax relief for energy storage schemes.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is committed to encouraging all forms of flexibility in the energy system, including large-scale, long duration electricity storage, hydrogen electrolysers to use surplus low carbon electricity and other battery storage. To support this strategy, there are already some tax reliefs for energy storage schemes
Following the expansion of the VAT relief for energy saving materials announced at Spring Statement 2022, battery storage supplied as part of the installation of any qualifying material, including solar panels, will benefit from a VAT zero rate for the next 5 years
Expenditure on energy storage schemes may qualify for existing capital allowances, depending on the facts of the particular case. For example, the Annual Investment Allowance is available for main and special rate assets, and allows businesses to write off the cost of qualifying plant and machinery investment in one go, up to £1m
The Government keeps all tax and tax reliefs under review with policy announcements expected at fiscal events.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the decision by the Bank of England not to release gold deposited by the government of Venezuela on perceptions of the safety of the UK as a place to store assets.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Holding gold reserves on behalf of foreign central banks is a matter for the Bank of England. Furthermore, the issue regarding control of the gold reserves is the subject of ongoing litigation and it would not be appropriate for HMT to comment. Neither HMT nor HMG are a party in the legal case. As such, HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision by the Bank of England not to release gold deposited by the government of Venezuela on perceptions of the safety of the UK as a place to store assets.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing the Scottish Parliament with powers to impose a levy on the profits made by supermarkets on the minimum unit price for low-cost high-strength alcohol.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the honourable member to the answer that I gave to the House on 19 December.
As part of our alcohol duty review, the Government aims to reduce administrative burdens on businesses. The reforms ensure that stronger products, which are associated with higher levels of harm, pay proportionately more duty.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent requests have been received from the Scottish Government for the Devolution of powers to allow savings and dividend income to be subject to Scottish income tax rates.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Treasury has not received any recent requests from the Scottish Government in relation to further tax devolution. The UK Government remains committed to the tax devolution agreed by the multi-party Smith Commission.