Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS Trusts setting up wholly owned subsidiary companies to avoid paying VAT.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current NHS England guidance dated February 2024, titled Guidance for assuring and supporting complex change – subsidiaries guidance for trusts forming or changing a subsidiary, confirms that the Department “reminded all NHS provider finance directors in September 2017 of their responsibilities around tax, advising that tax avoidance arrangements should not be entered into under any circumstances. We expect all NHS providers to follow this guidance when considering any new arrangements or different ways of working”
A perceived VAT advantage of setting up a wholly owned subsidiary cannot be the only reason for its creation. Subsidiary proposals should be driven by a robust commercial strategy that delivers clear financial, operational, and patient benefits.
No assessment is planned or deemed necessary.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are affected by the Loan Charge that have open pre-2010 enquiries.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
HMRC is currently providing updated information that the review has requested. It would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of the review by disclosing that information before the review has concluded. The information provided to the review will be published in due course.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of people impacted by the Loan Charge Scandal.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
HMRC is currently providing updated information that the review has requested. It would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of the review by disclosing that information before the review has concluded. The information provided to the review will be published in due course.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have settled with HMRC to avoid the Loan Charge.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
HMRC is currently providing updated information that the review has requested. It would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of the review by disclosing that information before the review has concluded. The information provided to the review will be published in due course.
Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the G7 agreement on global minimum tax on additional revenue to the public purse in each of the next five financial years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor, alongside her G7 counterparts, has reached an understanding on a proposed path forward for the global minimum tax, Pillar 2 of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).The G7 published a statement last week that set out our commitment to the core objectives of Pillar 2: tackling multinational tax avoidance and promoting a stable global tax environment that supports fair competition.
Recent discussions have taken into account concerns raised by the US Treasury regarding the interaction of the Pillar 2 rules with the US minimum tax system, and have focused on developing a side-by-side approach that maintains a level playing field.
Importantly, this agreement includes the removal of the retaliatory tax provision (Section 899) in the US’s legislative proposals, which would have imposed a significant additional tax burden on British businesses.
The understanding reached by the G7, and the principles underpinning it, will now be developed in detail and need to be agreed within the wider OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework, which comprises over 140 countries and jurisdictions.
Any changes to UK policy resulting from the final, negotiated solution, will be fully costed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Asked by: Baroness Janke (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of value added tax (VAT) thresholds on competition in the removals and storage industry; and whether they plan to lower the threshold to align with European economies and tackle VAT avoidance in the sector.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Consideration of changes to the VAT threshold would have to carefully balance the potential benefits to businesses, the economy as a whole, and tax revenues.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances. The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the amount of revenue lost through tax avoidance in relation to illegal subletting of homes as short-term lets in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics and details of the estimate methodologies are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK.
The latest estimate of the tax gap arising from ‘moonlighters’ in the hidden economy is £0.9 billion for tax year 2022 to 2023. This figure includes an estimate of around £350 million from individuals in employment who have not paid tax on lettings. The lettings tax gap figure is not separately published due to methodological uncertainties and provides only a broad indicator of the tax gap.
HMRC does not separately estimate the tax gap due to tax avoidance in relation to illegal subletting of homes as short-term lets.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the loan charge on the mental health of loan charge users.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In January, the Government launched an independent review of the Loan Charge. The Government believes the most important outcome of the review must be to bring the Loan Charge to a close for those people who still owe substantial amounts of money but can see no way to resolve their debts.
The Government recognises the impact that large tax bills can have on taxpayers, especially those who are in vulnerable circumstances.
HMRC continues to provide support for those affected, with agreed manageable payment plans and a well-established Extra Support Service. It has guidance and training in place for all customer advisors or settlement teams on identifying taxpayers who need extra support and providing reasonable adjustments to meet their needs.
Where appropriate, HMRC will signpost taxpayers to voluntary and community organisations and where needed, to a dedicated Samaritans helpline for specialist emotional help, where taxpayers can talk through their concerns and worries.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to launch a call for evidence as part of the Loan Charge review.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025.
The terms of reference make clear that it will be for the reviewer to decide what arrangements are needed to engage with stakeholders during the review.
The Government is committed to tackling promoters of tax avoidance and is currently consulting on a package of measures, powers and sanctions to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations. Further options are under consultation targeting those tax advisors and legal professionals behind avoidance schemes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to expand the scope of the Loan Charge review to include (a) contractors and (b) other parties responsible for promoting the scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025.
The terms of reference make clear that it will be for the reviewer to decide what arrangements are needed to engage with stakeholders during the review.
The Government is committed to tackling promoters of tax avoidance and is currently consulting on a package of measures, powers and sanctions to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations. Further options are under consultation targeting those tax advisors and legal professionals behind avoidance schemes.