Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Loan Charge review, what steps her Department are taking to ensure consistency and fairness for individuals who have already settled their cases, compared to the concessions and reliefs now available to others who did not.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The purpose of the Independent Review of the Loan Charge was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier, of which the Government has accepted all but one. To support those on the lowest incomes, the Government has gone further by providing an additional £5000 deduction for those in scope of the review, removing approximately 10,000 individuals from the charge entirely. This will come at a substantial Exchequer cost over the next five years.
The Government will legislate to give HMRC the power to administer a new settlement scheme. There is no plan to alter liabilities or refund tax paid by individuals who have settled and fully paid their liabilities under the loan charge.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how she plans to assess and administer the new high-value property charge; what steps she is taking to prevent avoidance and undervaluation; and whether there will be transitional relief for homeowners whose property value has recently increased due to market fluctuations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency will be conducting a targeted valuation to identify properties in scope of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS). HVCTS will then be collected by local authorities.
The Government will consult on the detailed implementation of the HVCTS in the new year, including the provision of support for those who may find it more difficult to pay. Further information on HVCTS is available at the following link:
High Value Council Tax Surcharge - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lloyd Hatton (Labour - South Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department will take to ensure transparency in the operation of HMRC's proposed whistleblowing reward scheme; and whether she plans to publish (a) eligibility criteria and award thresholds for applicants, and (b) data on the number and value of awards granted.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 the Government launched the Rewards for informants of high value tax fraud. This scheme is designed to target serious non-compliance involving large corporates, wealthy individuals, offshore and avoidance schemes. Informants can receive a reward of between 15 and 30% when they provide information which leads directly to HMRC collecting more than £1.5M tax. HMRC have published eligibility criteria for the scheme at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-serious-tax-avoidance-and-evasion.
HMRC has previously published data on the total amount of rewards paid annually through the standard informants reward scheme and will continue to do so. To protect the confidentiality of informants we do not publish the number of rewards or size of individual rewards.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local billing authorities by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies on council tax (i) avoidance and (ii) evasion in relation to the second homes council tax premium.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not issued guidance to billing authorities on this issue. Council tax is a local tax and administered by local authorities. It is therefore for them to manage and address any potential cases of avoidance or evasion in the council tax system.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) civil and (b) criminal penalties for avoidance of paying the second homes council tax premium.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils have a range of powers available to them to recover any type of unpaid council tax, including council tax premiums. The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax which seeks views on how council tax is collected and enforced. The government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that HMRC issues closure notices showing no adjustment to tax returns for users of the Horizon loan scheme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a minister I cannot comment on any individual or identifiable businesses and their tax affairs. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) should always treat taxpayers sensitively and fairly in accordance with the HMRC Charter.
To ensure fairness, HMRC applies the law in accordance with its published Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS). This ensures every taxpayer, no matter who they are, pays the tax due under the law.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC has treated the (a) Palmrock and (b) Horizon loan schemes differently in relation to the application of PAYE credits.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a minister I cannot comment on any individual or identifiable businesses and their tax affairs. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) should always treat taxpayers sensitively and fairly in accordance with the HMRC Charter.
To ensure fairness, HMRC applies the law in accordance with its published Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS). This ensures every taxpayer, no matter who they are, pays the tax due under the law.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority has issued recent guidance to local billing authorities on council tax (a) avoidance and (b) evasion in relation to the second homes council tax premium.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Guidance in relation to the payment and billing of council tax is developed and issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to local authorities.
However, the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), as part of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), works closely with local authorities to help them identify and prevent fraud.
As part of this, the NFI is currently collaborating with local authorities to understand the fraud risks related to council tax second home premiums. The NFI will use that insight to inform options, such as a data matching pilot, to detect and prevent fraud in this area.
This collaboration is also what has allowed the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has assessed the potential merits of making (a) directors and (b) owners of (i) dissolved and (ii) all other companies personally liable for the underpayment of taxes arising from the adaptation of tax (A) avoidance and (B) evasion schemes that those companies have (1) promoted and (2) made earnings from.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to closing the tax gap and cracking down on avoidance and evasion.
The Government is determined to do more to close in on promoters of marketed tax avoidance and recently consulted on a package of measures to strengthen HMRC’s powers to tackle them.
HMRC also carries out civil and criminal investigations into suspected tax evasion, including where there is suspicion of third parties being involved in fraud or evasions. All investigations are assessed to determine which action would be most appropriate.
It is a fundamental principle of the tax system that taxpayers are responsible for their own tax affairs. However, HMRC does levy penalties on promoters of tax avoidance and uses the Joint and Several Liability legislation to seek to recover penalty liabilities from appropriate individuals: including directors; shadow directors; or participators when the company becomes insolvent.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to introduce a universal stop notice for tax avoidance schemes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the damage caused to the tax system by those that promote tax avoidance schemes. It takes action to prevent that damage, for example by publishing details of schemes and promoters to help customers to steer clear of or otherwise exit such schemes.
The Government is determined to do more to close in on promoters of marketed tax avoidance and recently consulted on a package of measures to strengthen existing powers. This included a proposal to introduce a Universal Stop Notice. It will respond to this consultation in due course.