Finance Bill

Lord Bruce of Bennachie Excerpts

2nd reading & Committee negatived & 3rd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 17th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD) [V]]

Inevitably, my Lords, the March Budget has been overtaken by events and subsequent measures. I think we all recognise that, with the escalating crisis of Covid-19 and lockdown, the Government were faced with an unprecedented challenge which required drastic and radical action.

The measures taken have the benefit of providing cash quickly to individuals and businesses across the United Kingdom. I am sorry to record that the Scottish Government, unable to acknowledge the benefits of being part of the United Kingdom, have responded with churlish denial.

The massive increase in spending has been described as an end to austerity and, in terms of the scale of intervention and the escalation of the budget deficit, that is certainly how it looks. However, I contest that, had the coalition Government not tackled the hangover they inherited from the financial crash, the public finances would have been considerably more fragile than they are. Let us bear in mind that, before Covid-19, the economy was already slowing down and the OBR forecasts were pretty modest.

Now we know that the economy shrunk by 20% in April, and recovery is slow. Billions are being poured into helping people survive the lockdown and measures are trying to stimulate recovery. It is impossible to predict how the economy will recover and what the impact on public finances will be, but a day of reckoning will surely come.

Let me address some of the measures in the Bill. The Minister referred to the reversal of a proposed cut in corporation tax from 19% to 17%. This is projected to yield around £5 billion, but surely that now looks wide of the mark. Some companies may see a profit increase as a result of Covid-19, but surely most will struggle to make a profit or, as recent announcements have shown, even survive. Can the Minister indicate what adjustments have been made to the yield projections?

A couple of measures in the Budget are designed to claw back revenue to the HMRC, but the timing could not be worse. The loan charge proposals have hit many people hard. Some have been able to negotiate a deal with their employers, who effectively pick up the tax liability, but those who have not face real difficulty if they are forced to pay back earnings which they thought were legitimate and have probably spent. The issue of IR35 is one that we have been wrestling with for years. It convulsed the UK offshore oil and gas industry, as my constituency casework proved. Surely the case for further delaying implementation of these two measures is well made, and I hope that the Government will consider it.

The furlough scheme has been widely welcomed, but will all those furloughed have jobs to return to? Or will the Government have to fund increased unemployment, and will individuals be struggling because of the loss of their jobs?

Bounce-back loans totalling £30 billion have been rolled out, but normal due diligence has been suspended by government guarantees. What default estimate does the Government expect from those? Some people have already had access to finance in the form of grants and cheap loans, but many self-employed people have been given nothing. Such people are the backbone of the economy and provide essential, skilled services and they deserve better. Will the Government consider supporting them as they struggle to return to work and to cope with a total lack of income during lockdown?

For the hospitality industry, the VAT cut is of course welcome. However, not every hotel or restaurant can open cost-effectively this late in the season. There are considerable costs in social distancing in hotels and restaurants. For many, it can be justified only for a full season. Will the Government consider extending the VAT cut to boost bookings for what we hope will be a full season next year?

The digital services tax is a small start to what will need to be an international move to ensure that digital companies pay a fair share of tax on profits derived from their operations in individual countries. It is expected to deliver £275 million in the current tax year, rising to £440 million in 2023-24. The objective must be to ensure that digital companies are taxed fairly and equitably in the same way as other companies and pay proportionately.

The stamp duty Bill is projected to cost £3.8 billion, which is offered as a scattergun approach. Would it not have been better to target it towards first-time buyers rather than giving a kickback to many transactions that would have gone ahead anyway? Can the Minister comment on the different approaches taken by Scotland and Wales, which concentrate the benefit on the lower end of the market? Have the Government considered the effect on the lettings market? Will not landlords take advantage of this holiday to put currently let flats on the market? This would cause distress and expense to tenants forced to look for alternative accommodation, which was surely not the intention of the measure.

Finally—I declare an interest in that my wife is a local councillor—can I put in a demand that the Government recognise the crucial role played by local authorities in helping to cope with this crisis? This surely underlines the case for a fundamental review of local government finance so that it is not left at the mercy of short-term whims of the Government, happy to burden councils with responsibilities but not to provide the funding.

I hope that the mantra for moving out of this unprecedented shock is to build a fairer, more sustainable and more caring society. That is certainly what the Liberal Democrats are committed to.