Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to allow (a) churches and (b) other religious buildings to continue to recover VAT.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has now set out departmental budgets and the spending priorities for Phase 1 of the Spending Review. The outcome of individual programmes, such as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, will now be assessed during the departmental Business Planning process.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to help mitigate the ongoing financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on (a) individuals and (b) small businesses.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country. A new Ministerial Taskforce has been established to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce child poverty. In addition, the government is introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on debt deductions in Universal Credit (UC), extending the Household Support Fund for another six months until 31 March 2025 – then extending this further for 2025-26, and continuing to make Discretionary Housing Payments in 2025-26. This package – which provides help on debt repayments, help during a crisis, and support for those struggling most with the cost of essentials – will improve economic security and resilience for those who need it most.
The Government has also put growth as its number one mission, which will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets. The approach of this government will centre on fostering good work. We will ensure the minimum wage is a true living wage and reform employment support to offer more people the dignity and purpose of meaningful employment.
In relation to small businesses, the government is committed to making it easier for start-ups and scale-ups to access external sources of financial support. This includes extending the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust schemes to 2035; committing over £250 million in funding in 2025-26 for the British Business Bank’s small business loans programmes; ensuring small businesses can access UK Export Finance’s support and exploring the need for new products to support small exporters to access the insurance and finance they need; and publishing post implementation reviews of the Bank Referral Scheme and Commercial Credit Data Sharing Scheme. The government now intends to consult on enhancing both policies to better support SME access to finance.
Late payments can bring cash-flow challenges for small businesses. We have already taken action to tackle late payments through passing additional reporting requirements for large firms in August, and the announcement of a consultation on options to go further. At Budget, we also announced from 1 October 2025, companies bidding for government contracts over £5 million per annum will be excluded from the procurement process if they do not pay their own suppliers within an average of 45 days. The government also views increasing its procurement spend with small businesses as an important economic growth lever, with further details on implementing this to be set out in the National Procurement Policy Statement next year.
The government will maintain the Corporation Tax Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rate and thresholds. This means 9 in 10 actively trading companies, including a majority of SMEs, will have a Corporation Tax rate lower than 25%. The £1 million Annual Investment Allowance will also be kept in place to provide the certainty businesses need to invest.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Digital Services Tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor set out her plans on tax at the Budget. The Digital Services Tax (DST) is a 2% tax on digital services providers, and it was implemented in April 2020 as a temporary solution to widely held concerns with international corporate tax.
The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. It is the UK’s intention to repeal the DST when this international solution is in place.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the HMRC mileage rate for reimbursing the use of private cars on (a) volunteer drivers and (b) organisations in the volunteer sector; and if she will take steps to review the mileage payment allowance.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates or reimburse the actual cost incurred. Actual costs above the AMAP rate can be reimbursed without incurring a tax liability, so long as drivers can provide evidence of their costs. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.
The AMAP rate is intended to reflect both running costs (such as fuel) and a proportion of standing costs (such as insurance, MOT and depreciation). Therefore, in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile the Government must consider the weighting given to each component and how to apportion certain costs.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government will continue to keeps the AMAP rate under review. Any changes to the AMAP rates will be announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a share buyback tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Share buybacks are already subject to taxation in the form of Stamp Taxes on Shares (STS), which raise important revenue – up to £4.4bn per year – that helps to fund our public services.
There are also rules in place to ensure that any returns that arise to shareholders as part of a buyback are treated consistently with the policies and principles that underpin the broader tax system.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of (a) the impact of share buybacks on economic inequality and (b) the potential impact of a targeted tax on this issue.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Share buybacks are already subject to taxation in the form of Stamp Taxes on Shares (STS), which raise important revenue – up to £4.4bn per year – that helps to fund our public services.
There are also rules in place to ensure that any returns that arise to shareholders as part of a buyback are treated consistently with the policies and principles that underpin the broader tax system.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of abolishing the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime on rural areas depending on tourism; and what steps she is taking to support people who let short-term furnished holiday properties.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets tax regime from April 2025. Short-term lets will continue to play an important role in the UK’s tourism economy, including in rural communities, without the FHL tax regime.
The changes the Government has announced equalise the tax treatment of landlords’ property income and gains.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make her policy to raise the cap for Lifetime ISAs in line with house price inflation.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains of the view that the Lifetime ISA property price cap is set at an appropriate level to support most first-time buyers across the UK while targeting households that may find it most difficult to get onto the property ladder.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK.
The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review and considers all representations made carefully, with any changes made as part of the Budget process.