Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking at EU level to make sanitary products exempt from VAT.
Answered by David Gauke
I have, following the recent Parliamentary debate on this issue, written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to these products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT initiatives. That Action Plan is now expected to emerge in March 2016.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take in response to the Sixth Report of the Public Accounts Committee, HM Revenue and Customs performance in 2014-15, HC 393.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recognise that their customer service has not been good enough, and have taken major steps to improve. This includes recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles, available outside normal office hours when many of their customers choose to call.
These steps have started to make a difference. This month, HMRC have answered more than 80% of calls, and average queue times are now around 10 minutes.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the staff budget for HM Revenue and Customs was in each year since 1997-98.
Answered by David Gauke
Budgets for staff are set internally in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), however information relating to actual staff expenditure for HMRC is available from their Report and Accounts.Please note that the staff expenditure up to 2010-11 include amounts for those staff who moved to UK Border Agency.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the budget was for staff answering calls to tax offices in each year since 2007-08.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold this information, owing to the fact that resource is now moved flexibly within the organisation to deliver customer service.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent British multinational companies avoiding tax in developing countries.
Answered by David Gauke
The Government takes tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning extremely seriously, and has taken action both domestically and through working with other countries to prevent this.
The UK has led global efforts to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.
The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to collect the tax they are due. Through the G20 Development Working Group, and with the supporting of international organisations, it is working to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations.
In addition, the UK contributes considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries build robust tax administrations. Earlier this year, the Government committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the establishment of a UN body to lead the re-writing of tax rules to help prevent multinational companies from avoiding paying tax in developing countries.
Answered by David Gauke
The Government is committed to supporting developing countries access sustainable sources of revenue and collect the taxes they are due. However, it has concerns that the establishment of a UN body with responsibility for agreeing international tax rules would lead to duplication with the ongoing work of the G20 and OECD, and would make it more difficult to achieve agreement on international tax reforms.
The UK has been at the forefront of recent international efforts to ensure that taxing rights are closely aligned with economic activity through the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Developing countries have been directly involved at working and decision-making levels in BEPS discussions and all countries will be able to benefit from the changes resulting from this work.
The Government is also working through the G20 Development Working Group and with international organisations to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations. In addition, the Government funds tax capacity building in the vast majority of our priority developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally, as well as through peer-to-peer technical assistance from HM Revenue and Customs.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the tax exemption for cider producers who sell under 70hl per annum on the British cider industry.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As announced at Summer Budget 2015, the government will retain the current duty exemption for small cider producers until and unless a replacement scheme is established.
The UK is discussing reforms to EU law with the EU commission and other Member States, so that it explicitly allows member states to support small cider makers through the duty regime. The government is also looking at alternatives that could apply. The government will work with industry on both of these.
Small cider makers are a traditional part of rural economies who help create a diverse and vibrant cider market and the government is committed to maintaining support for the industry.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts in EU member states on the UK's tax exemption for cider producers who sell under 70hl per annum.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As announced at Summer Budget 2015, the government will retain the current duty exemption for small cider producers until and unless a replacement scheme is established.
The UK is discussing reforms to EU law with the EU commission and other Member States, so that it explicitly allows member states to support small cider makers through the duty regime. The government is also looking at alternatives that could apply. The government will work with industry on both of these.
Small cider makers are a traditional part of rural economies who help create a diverse and vibrant cider market and the government is committed to maintaining support for the industry.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy that the tax exemption for cider producers who sell under 70hl per annum remain in force.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As announced at Summer Budget 2015, the government will retain the current duty exemption for small cider producers until and unless a replacement scheme is established.
The UK is discussing reforms to EU law with the EU commission and other Member States, so that it explicitly allows member states to support small cider makers through the duty regime. The government is also looking at alternatives that could apply. The government will work with industry on both of these.
Small cider makers are a traditional part of rural economies who help create a diverse and vibrant cider market and the government is committed to maintaining support for the industry.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that overseas retailers trading online stock which is located in the UK pay the appropriate level of VAT.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supplies of goods are within the scope of UK VAT if the goods are actually in the UK at the time they are sold to the customer.
HMRC are cracking down hard on all forms of tax evasion, regardless of where it occurs or who commits it. HMRC are determined to tackle deliberate non-compliance to ensure that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently to create a level playing field for all.