Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to recover tax avoided through disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes from people who (a) recommended, (b) promoted and (c) operated those schemes.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has taken action to tackle the promoters of avoidance schemes, implementing a wide range of actions to disrupt their activities and supply chains, including publishing the details of promoters.
However, liability for the tax is always that of the individual and there is no legal mechanism to transfer disguised remuneration liabilities from the scheme users to the promoters.
As of 31 December, HMRC has published the details of 59 promoters, 23 directors and details of 64 tax avoidance schemes.
HMRC has also issued over 20 stop notices to promoters and published details of 16 of these arrangements. Publishing this information supports taxpayers in identifying tax avoidance schemes so they can steer clear of or exit them.
The current Finance Bill is introducing tougher consequences for promoters of tax avoidance. This includes a new criminal offence to strengthen the deterrent to promoting tax avoidance, making it clear promoters must stop promoting these schemes, and a power enabling HMRC to act more quickly to disqualify directors of companies involved in tax avoidance.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with HMRC on ending actions on the loan charge.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Loan Charge was introduced to ensure that people who had not had tax deducted from their incomes paid their fair share.
The Government has already had an independent review. In 2019 Lord Morse led an independent review of the Loan Charge and its implementation. Lord Morse had full discretion over how the review was run, whom he consulted, and the recommendations made. The Government accepted 19 of his 20 recommendations, which benefited more than 30,000 people, including around 9,500 who were removed from the scope of the Loan Charge entirely.
As well as recommending changes to the policy, Lord Morse was clear that the Loan Charge was necessary, in the public interest and should remain in force.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an independent review into the loan charge.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Loan Charge was introduced to ensure that people who had not had tax deducted from their incomes paid their fair share.
The Government has already had an independent review. In 2019 Lord Morse led an independent review of the Loan Charge and its implementation. Lord Morse had full discretion over how the review was run, whom he consulted, and the recommendations made. The Government accepted 19 of his 20 recommendations, which benefited more than 30,000 people, including around 9,500 who were removed from the scope of the Loan Charge entirely.
As well as recommending changes to the policy, Lord Morse was clear that the Loan Charge was necessary, in the public interest and should remain in force.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not in, or of itself, a criminal offence. However, there are a range of offences which might be committed by those who promote tax avoidance schemes or advise on their use.
On that basis, to date, while there have been no prosecutions of individuals for the promotion and/or operation of schemes subject to the Loan Charge, one individual involved in selling Disguised Remuneration schemes subject to the Loan Charge has been convicted for a related offence. Also, a number of individuals are currently under criminal investigation by HMRC for offences linked to schemes subject to the Loan Charge.
In addition to schemes subject to the Loan Charge, since 1 April 2016, more than 20 individuals have been convicted for offences relating to arrangements which have been promoted and marketed as tax avoidance. These have resulted in over 100 years of custodial sentences and 9 years of suspended sentences being ordered, the majority of which relate to promoters.
Prosecutions are only one type of intervention available to HMRC where they identify concerns.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help facilitate the entry of new lenders offering long-term fixed rate mortgages backed by institutional bonds to the market.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.
However, lenders in the UK already do offer this type of mortgage product, and those looking to take out a long-term fixed rate mortgage are encouraged to shop around and speak to a broker to find the best possible product for them.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 9 September 2019 to Question 287534 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, what his policy is on the hypothecation of Vehicle Excise Duty to roads spending.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Revenue raised through English Vehicle Excise Duty is being reinvested into the English road network between 2020-2025 to fund road enhancement projects including the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), which is the largest ever investment in England’s motorways and A Roads.
Spending Review 2021 confirmed £24 billion of strategic roads investment between 2020 and 2025 and over £8 billion investment for local roads maintenance and enhancements over this Parliament to fill millions of potholes a year, resurface roads and repair bridges, as well as delivering vital local road upgrades.
Spring Budget 2023 also provided an additional £200m in 23-24 to maintain and improve local roads. This increase will enable local authorities in England to fix more potholes, complete resurfacing, and invest in major repairs and renewals, such as keeping bridges and major structures open. The increase is expected to fix the equivalent of up to four million additional potholes across the country.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the value to the British economy of unpaid household work.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The ONS produce regular estimates of unpaid household labour. This data is currently up to date until 2016, when the total value of unpaid household service work was £1.24 trillion, equivalent to 63.1% of gross domestic product. Estimates for 2017 to 2021 are due to be released in Q4 2022.
The Government has provided the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with an additional £25 million to help implement the recommendations of Sir Charles Bean’s 2016 Review of Economics Statistics, including through an initiative called ‘Beyond GDP’ that aims to address the limitations in GDP by developing broader measures of welfare and activity. Part of this work is looking to improve estimates of unpaid household work, and integrate them into extended measures of GDP such as Net Inclusive Income.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the High Income Child Benefit Charge to allow it to reflect total household income instead of individual income for families who choose to provide this information to HMRC.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is not currently considering options to charge the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) on a household basis for certain claimants, who choose to submit household income information to HMRC. This would require HMRC to operate two parallel income thresholds for those liable, which would entail a significant operational burden for HMRC, and would not ensure consistency and fairness among taxpayers.
The UK has a system of independent taxation where every individual, including each partner in a couple, is treated equally within the income tax system and has their own personal allowance and set of rate bands which they can set against their own income. It is a fundamental principle of independent taxation that the individual incomes are taxed separately, and this ensures independence and privacy in their tax affairs. The Government therefore considers it appropriate to charge HICBC on an individual basis, in line with other income tax policy.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) current and (b) potential volume of international trade undertaken by businesses in Hampshire.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
On this website, HMRC also publishes annual statistics titled Regional trade in goods statistics disaggregated by smaller geographical areas. This includes statistics for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Further information and the latest release for 2021 can be found via this link: Regional trade in goods statistics disaggregated by smaller geographical areas: 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Statistics for 2022 will be published in November 2023.
HMRC does not estimate potential volume of trade.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of pension tax rules have on the (a) working hours and (b) levels of retirement of doctors in the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Pensions tax relief is one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. In 2020/21 Income Tax and employer National Insurance Contributions relief cost £67.3 billion. The annual and lifetime allowances help to ensure that the highest earning pension savers do not receive a disproportionate benefit. 99 per cent of pension savers make annual contributions below £40,000, the level of standard annual allowance, while 91 per cent of individuals currently approaching retirement have a pension below the lifetime allowance.
The Government is committed to ensuring that hard-working NHS staff do not find themselves reducing their work commitments due to the interaction between their pay, their pension, and the relevant tax regime. On 22 September, the Government announced it will change elements of the NHS Pension Scheme to help retain doctors, nurses and other senior NHS staff, to increase capacity. These changes include:
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced the Government will introduce measures to support and grow the NHS workforce and improve performance across the health system. To support this the government committed to publishing a comprehensive NHS workforce strategy, including independently verified workforce forecasts, next year.