HMRC Self-Assessment Helpline

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

My hon. Friend makes the really important point that there are still people in this country, including in her constituency, who are not digitally aware or who are digitally excluded for a variety of reasons. That is why an important part of our strategy is to ensure that those who are digitally excluded, and those who are vulnerable or have particularly complex affairs, can always reach a human being.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

This is another chaotic Government U-turn, with the Chancellor taking the decision this morning to scrap plans to close HMRC phone lines less than 24 hours after the measures were announced. A Treasury source admitted this morning that closing HMRC’s helplines would be to

“the detriment of the general public and the vulnerable who need access to the helplines to support them with tax matters. ”

This is part of a wider malaise within Tory broken Britain where many of my Slough constituents cannot speak to a doctor when they want to, cannot register for an NHS dentist and much worse besides. So why was this decision taken in the first place?

[Nigel Huddleston]

I mentioned in my opening comments—I will stress it again because it is important that nobody scaremongers about this—that it was never intended, and never would have been the case, that the vulnerable, the digitally excluded or those with complex affairs would be unable to access these services, even with the proposals set out yesterday. On that particular point, the hon. Gentleman is just wrong.

Loan Charge

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sammy Wilson]

Indeed, it is, and I will come to the issue of HMRC chasing the individuals, rather than the promoters.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Member give way?

[Sammy Wilson]

Let me just make this point: it seems that HMRC is going after those whom it regards as easy targets. The promoters of the scheme have not paid one penny, despite the fact that they have made hundreds of millions of pounds from the schemes, have mis-sold them and have disappeared when there is any attempt to get at them. The promoters are not being pursued and, indeed, HMRC has admitted that it does not intend to chase after the promoters, and yet individuals are being harassed to the point where many of them have taken their own lives.

[Mr Dhesi]

I congratulate the right hon. Member on having secured today’s debate, especially given that at least 10 people have sadly committed suicide. It is of course essential that disguised remuneration schemes are dealt with fairly and effectively, but why does he think the Government and HMRC have not actively pursued the architects and promoters of the scheme, rather than the victims who have been led into the schemes?

[Sammy Wilson]

The answer is easy: the victims are easy targets. They are the ones who are easy to chase. The promoters of the schemes have all kinds of means of defence. Many disappeared when they realised that they may well be pursued. This is the baffling thing, and maybe the Minister can explain it: if these schemes are designed as contrived ways of avoiding tax, why is HMRC not pursuing even some of the new promoters who are establishing themselves today and who will have disappeared by tomorrow, once it is seen that their schemes are being challenged?

Oral Answers to Questions

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to his place. The Government have the opportunity next week to right an historical wrong by abolishing non-dom tax status. The Chancellor could use that money to get our NHS back on its feet and to provide free breakfast clubs for all primary-age children, just as Labour has called for. Is the abolition of non-dom tax status under consideration, or has the Prime Minister ruled it out again, for personal reasons?

[Nigel Huddleston]

The hon. Gentleman is well aware that there are real dangers that what he is proposing would make the UK a less attractive destination—that is a very important issue. The City pays for a huge amount of our NHS, for example, and non-dom taxpayers were liable to pay £8.5 billion in UK income tax in 2021-22 and invested more than £7 billion in the UK.

Tax-free Shopping for International Visitors

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Thursday 7th September 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq.

I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on securing this debate on tax-free shopping for international visitors. On behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition and as a shadow Treasury Minister, I am absolutely thrilled to respond to the debate. I do so for the very first time in my new role as shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, so no doubt hon. Members will be very kind to me today, Dr Huq.

As hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Nickie Aiken), eloquently made clear, the publication of official independent statistics on this issue commissioned by the Government is long overdue. Manifestly, businesses across our country—although there is a special need for those concentrated close to our airports and in visitor hotspots—need a supportive and stable Government able to provide certainty for the future. Stability and certainty are crucial to enable businesses to plan, invest and grow, but when it comes to tax-free shopping—the arrangement whereby products that are bought here but not consumed here are ultimately VAT-free—the uncomfortable truth for the Government is that Ministers changed course on this policy twice in the space of two months last autumn.

The Prime Minister, when he was the Chancellor, ended VAT-free shopping for tourists in 2021. The right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), who became Chancellor, promised in September 2022 to reinstate it, as part of his disastrous mini-Budget. Weeks later, as the musical chairs to become Chancellor continued, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt) came in as Chancellor and performed another U-turn: tax-free shopping was again off the table. No sooner had one Conservative Chancellor marched businesses all the way to the top of the hill than the next one marched them all the way back down again. The country will not forget the worry and pain that began nearly one year ago with a Tory mini-Budget that crashed our economy, led to interest rates rising, and caused lasting damage for households and businesses. The reversal of the disastrous mini-Budget was necessary, of course, but businesses affected by the U-turn have been left understandably frustrated by changes and decisions made in haste.

We in the Opposition have been listening carefully to the concerns of those calling for VAT-free shopping to be reinstated, but at a time when the nation is having to navigate its way through multiple Tory Government-induced crises, we do not believe that reinstating tax-free shopping for international visitors should be a priority for the use of the billions of pounds of public money. Nevertheless, although we are not calling for VAT-free shopping to be reinstated, we firmly believe that retail and hospitality businesses, particularly those concentrated on our high streets, need support from the Government.

That is why, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), the shadow Chancellor, has set out, Labour is committed to reviving Britain’s high streets by replacing the current system of business rates with a new and reformed system that is fit for the modern day. Businesses on our high street provide essential services to people across the country and make a significant contribution to the Exchequer. They are not just places to buy things we need, but an important part of where we live, work and go about our daily lives. Their success is a key part of our mission to secure for the UK the highest sustained economic growth in the G7.

[Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown]

I thank the shadow Exchequer Secretary for giving way. I did not realise he had just been promoted, so I congratulate him on his new post. For understandable reasons, he is not committing to restore tourist tax-free shopping, but would he support my plea to the Minister that we should have a proper independent examination of all the figures to prove whether it would be a tax benefit, neutral or negative for this country, so that we can make informed decisions?

[Mr Dhesi]

As I mentioned earlier, it is imperative that those official, independent and highly regarded statistics commissioned by the Government are there for all to see, for the sake of transparency. However, we feel that at a time when we have the highest recorded waiting lists for the NHS, the biggest tax burden and drop in disposable income since the second world war, and many other crises besides, this cannot be a priority for what I hope will be the incoming Labour Government—touch wood.

We will support businesses, create jobs and increase productivity across every part of our country. A Labour Government will keep listening to and working with businesses as we set about making the tax system fairer and providing the stability and certainty that businesses so desperately need.

Mortgage Charter

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Monday 26th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If more people are encouraged to save, that is technically counter-inflationary and something to be encouraged.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Due to the disastrous policies of Conservative Governments, including eventually crashing the economy, hard-working Brits, including people in my Slough constituency, are having to pay the price via painful premiums on their mortgage or rent. Why does the Chancellor think that the latest data shows that someone with a £200,000 loan is paying over £800 more annually in the UK than in Germany and over £2,000 more than somebody in France?

[Jeremy Hunt]

If the hon. Gentleman wants to look further at Europe, he will see that 14 EU countries have higher core inflation than we do. As for interest rate rises, they have been at similar levels in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

Mortgage Market

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffith]

I do not have any figures for rental, but the rental market is something we look at closely and we will keep an eye on what happens to those buy-to-let renters. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has brought a significant set of reforms before this House to help renters. I come back to the point that, however popular or unpopular it may be with the Opposition, the best way to manage this situation is to be prudent with the nation’s finances, to get the debt burden falling and to give the markets confidence so that interest rates fall as quickly as possible. I ask all colleagues to work with us on that. The last thing we should be doing is putting out the Opposition’s £28 billion a year of unfunded promises, which will spook the markets and lead to the sorts of rates that none of us wishes to see.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Shockingly, new data this morning reveals that the value of mortgage arrears has risen by 10% on the quarter—the highest and fastest increase in more than a decade. Many of my constituents are struggling to pay their mortgages. Unfortunately, they are paying the price for the Conservative Government’s economic failures, because a typical household’s mortgage payments are now three times greater than they were just two years ago. What conversations and what meetings have the Minister and the Chancellor had with lenders, and what action will they take to provide forbearance for my constituents?

[Andrew Griffith]

I should be grateful if the hon. Gentleman would write to me with those statistics. The statistics I quoted earlier are that the level of mortgage arrears reported by the Financial Conduct Authority for the period up to the end of 2022 was 0.81%. That is a record low in recent memory, significantly lower than before the pandemic and much lower than it was in 2009. I am very happy to engage with him about the level of mortgage arrears. I engage with mortgage lenders all the time, as does the Chancellor, and we want them to have the right degree of forbearance for families who are struggling.

Autumn Statement

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The detailed decisions about what we do with respect to infrastructure in the east midlands will follow, but I want to reassure him that we have not made big cuts in our capital budget. We have protected it at the very high levels it was increased to by a previous Conservative Government. As a result, we will be in a better position to support regions such as the east midlands than we would have been had we made the mistake of mortgaging our future by cutting our capital spend.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

After crashing the economy and inflicting on my Slough constituents and others higher mortgages, higher rents and the highest inflation for over 40 years, the latest Prime Minister and his Chancellor have embarked, without any mandate, on austerity 2.0 and they have decided to inflict yet more painful tax rises. In his autumn statement, the Chancellor kept referring to “global factors”, so can he point to just one other advanced economy that is raising taxes at the same scale as us here in the UK?

[Jeremy Hunt]

Yes, the United States is raising taxes by $800 billion.

Economic Update

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I would be delighted to accept my hon. Friend’s invitation. He might not want to tell me what he would like as a christening present for his daughter, because I now have a trillion pounds at my disposal.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

In the history of British democracy, have we ever had such a calamitous start for a Prime Minister? We have now had four Chancellors in four months, but it was a majority of Conservative MPs and members who inflicted fantasy trickle-down economics upon our country, when they naively decided to take a holiday from reality, which has left many of my Slough constituents struggling to pay their bills. Given that the new Chancellor has effectively dumped the kamikaze mini-Budget, does he agree that he and the Prime Minister no longer have a democratic mandate to continue in their positions and that they should step aside and let the exasperated British people make their decision?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Just before the Chancellor answers that question and responds to the very neat speech that the hon. Gentleman has just made, I must appeal to colleagues for quick questions. We have had all the speeches; we do not need to hear all the same things all over again. We need quick questions so that the Chancellor can give brief replies, because otherwise we will never get on to the other business.

Economy Update

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

Japan, as my right hon. Friend will appreciate, is a very particular case, but even Japan is experiencing its highest relative inflation rate in many years. For Switzerland, there are a couple of reasons. The first is a particularly strong Swiss franc, which happens at times like this. The second is a different mix of energy, which I believe from memory is provided overwhelmingly by hydro and nuclear. That is a completely different energy mix, which means that Switzerland suffers less from the shock we are experiencing.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Almost five months after Labour called for a windfall tax on oil and gas producers to help seriously struggling Brits, I am glad that this out-of-touch, out-of-ideas Government have had that damascene conversion and performed today’s screeching U-turn. However, it is already too late for many, including many of my constituents, who have been forced into destitution and had to choose between eating and heating. Talking of U-turns, will the Chancellor today perform another one by scrapping the national insurance tax hike? It is seriously hurting working people, and we are the only G7 country to be taxing working people so much that we now have the highest tax burden since the 1960s.

[Rishi Sunak]

Some 70% of people in work—including, I would imagine, the hon. Gentleman’s constituents—will pay less tax this year than last year as a result of the increase in the national insurance primary threshold. That is delivering a tax cut to the vast majority of people, but it is right that those with broader shoulders help to contribute to funding the NHS properly, as it needs.

Covid-19: Government Support for Business

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

As I mentioned, there is outstanding support from the local additional restrictions grant, which local authorities have available. I would be happy to hear from the hon. Lady where Newcastle’s local authority is on the disbursal of that grant. As I said, we are meeting representatives from across the economy this afternoon and we will look carefully at what can be done.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker, to you and the excellent House staff.

It should have been a very busy Christmas period, but hospitality, entertainment and linked businesses in my constituency, on top of trying to contend with soaring energy costs, are being hard hit. They are losing bookings and events after the Prime Minister announced his recent plan. Where is the Chancellor? Why did he not announce a corresponding support package plan for those affected? What support package can businesses in my constituency apply for to help them in these difficult times?

[John Glen]

I have already set out a number of support measures that we have taken, which are ongoing through to next March, such as business rates relief, grants from local authorities, grants that we have already given and a concession on the lower VAT rate. Of course, I recognise the reality of behaviour at the moment. We have to assess that, look at the data and look at what the appropriate measure is. It is really clear: we have not shut anything down. What we have done is set out new conditions which people are finding it difficult to come to terms with. I understand that, which is why we have to work carefully with the sector to look at what sort of support we can bring in.