Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending online marketplace VAT liability rules to domestic sellers as a way to reduce fraud and close the tax gap.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has and will continue to engage with stakeholders to understand the impact of any changes to online marketplace liability rules on both platforms and sellers. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the current online marketplace liability rules, together with the abolishment of Low Value Consignment relief, will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.
HMRC has an overall compliance strategy which focuses on addressing all forms of non-compliance. The most recent published VAT gap shows a continued downward trend, falling from 13.7% to 5.4% between tax years 2005/06 and 2023/24.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Remote Gaming Duty tax on reducing gambling related harm.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the government announced a package of changes to gambling duties which will raise over £1 billion per year to support the public finances and forms part of our ambition to create a fair, modern and sustainable tax system.
Evidence shows that online slots and casino games have much higher proportions of problem gamblers. In recognition of this associated level of harm, the rate for Remote Gaming Duty will increase from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. The objective is to reduce the incentive for gambling operators to invest in or push people towards these more harmful forms of gambling.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's correspondence entitled 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January 2026, whether a gastro-pub categorised by the Valuation Office Agency as a restaurant is eligible for the relief; and whether a restaurant with a bar at which customers can sit and order a drink without food makes the venue eligible for the pubs relief.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This relief will be awarded to pubs and live music venues at the discretion of Local Authorities, who will determine eligibility using guidance published by the Government and based on existing definitions.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Council Tax Valuation Operating System Evaluation, published by the Valuation Office Agency on 20 January 2026, what are the new geospatial tools, and which datasets is it populated with.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency’s Valuation Operating System for Council Tax replaces multiple existing tools with a single case management system. This includes a mapping tool which utilises publicly available geographical data and government records to support Council Tax work.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis the Valuation Office Agency provided to government departments on the potential distributional consequences of the 2026 business rates revaluation before the Budget 2025, including the potential impact on the pub sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) provides valuation data and analysis on the property market to MHCLG and HMT.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the proposed pay‑per‑mile tax on electric vehicles will take into account rural drivers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.
The Treasury has considered the impact of eVED on rural drivers; as with fuel duty, those who use the roads more will generally pay more in eVED. Although those living in rural areas tend to drive more than those living in urban areas, they are also more likely to have a dedicated home charger for their EV, which allows access to the lowest charging costs.
The eVED consultation provides further detail on how eVED will work and seeks views on its implementation. The consultation is available at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-electric-vehicle-excise-duty-eved.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made and assessment of the potential merits of completing an updated assessment of the potential savings to the Exchequer from withdrawing the postponed VAT accounting process, taking into account (a) increased deferred VAT payments since implementation, (b) growth in missing trader fraud and VAT loss due to misuse or non-compliance,(c) sectoral analysis of industries contributing most to deferred VAT and (d) behavioural and enforcement trends since PVA’s introduction.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Postponed VAT accounting provides significant support for businesses, helping to manage cash flow and facilitate imports. HMRC undertakes regular operational work to ensure compliance with the rules around postponed VAT accounting.
The VAT gap has reduced from 13.8% in 2005-06 to 6.2% in 2024-25, and has remained broadly stable since 2020-21.
The Government keeps all tax policy under review as part of the policy making process
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the number of people who will be tax payers as a result of the freezing of personal allowances between 2024 and 2029.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of people forecast to pay Income Tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:
The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of excluding soft play centres and other family focused venues from the 15 per cent business rates discount for pubs and music venues on those businesses; and whether she plans to extend equivalent relief to venues serving children, parents and carers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pubs rents in business rates valuations are analysed differently to some other sectors. While most hospitality and leisure properties are valued by comparing the size of the property, pubs are valued by comparing their turnover potential. Industry bodies have highlighted concerns with how costs are accounted for in this methodology, particularly during periods of high inflation. There is significant overlap between the pub sector and live music venues, with many pubs serving as grassroots live music venues, meaning they are often valued for business rates purposes in a similar way.
The new pubs and live music venues relief is on top of the £4.3 billion support package announced at the Budget to support ratepayers across all sectors seeing bill increases. As a result of the Budget package, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
The Government is also introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including soft play centres. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of business rate increases on the rural economy.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This has led to increases in rateable values for some properties, as current values are based on pandemic-era valuations in recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills.
To respond to those who are seeing large increases, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
Rural Rate Relief also continues to be available for key amenities and community assets in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.