Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will support the European Commission Proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC, to enable platform-neutral application of the zero rate of VAT to books, newspapers, magazines and periodical publications in both print and digital forms.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government believes it is appropriate for greater flexibility to be extended to Member States in respect of the ability to apply reduced and zero rates of VAT.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to lay secondary legislation on changes to the rate of interest on late payment of compensation under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 before Parliament.
Answered by David Gauke
Government is committed to making the process of compulsory purchase orders clearer, fairer and faster. The Housing and Planning Act and the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, introduced last week (7th September) will enable us to lay legislation to set interest rates on payments of compensation that are paid late. The Regulations to set this level of interest will be laid at least 21 days before the substantive commencement of sections 192 to 198 of the Housing and Planning Act. This is likely to be in spring 2017.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which companies the Government retains golden shares in for the purpose of limiting overseas ownership; and what the terms are of such shares.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In December 2015, the NAO issued the report ‘Companies in government’. As shown in Figure 7 of this report, at 31 March 2014 the government held special shares in 11 companies, across 5 departments. Changes since 31 March 2014 are shown in Figure 9 of the same report.
The exact terms of those special shares will be a matter for the relevant Secretary of State, depending on the specific arrangements that were put in place for each company.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 22 September 2015 to Question 10382, what guidance the Valuation Office Agency provides to help organisations in the events industry better understand when liability for business rates will arise.
Answered by David Gauke
The Valuation Office Agency has held meetings with the Events Industry Forum and others representing the events industry. Additional written guidance, beyond the Rating Manual, on the factors that determine rateability has been provided through these channels. The Agency encourages direct contact if ratepayers wish to discuss any aspect of a rating assessment.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 22 September 2015 to Question 10382, which festival sites have now been assessed for business rates; and to which of those sites business rates will apply.
Answered by David Gauke
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has been reviewing the rating of festival sites for business rates. Due to taxpayer confidentiality, we are unable to provide the names of both the sites which have been assessed and, of these, which are now liable for business rates.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department submitted a formal application to the European Commission for state aid clearance to enlarge the scheme for social interest tax relief; and when he expects to receive the outcome of that application.
Answered by David Gauke
The Government submitted its application for State aid clearance to enlarge the Social Interest Tax Relief scheme on 17 January 2015. Discussions with the Commission are ongoing. The Government cannot set out an expected timetable for clearance or enlargement of the scheme at this stage, as timing depends on how these discussions progress.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the projected level of income tax that will be forgone by the taxpayer by providing higher rate income tax relief on pension contributions in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.
Answered by David Gauke
Information on the total cost of pensions tax relief is published in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Statistics table PEN6, available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/registered-pension-schemes-cost-of-tax-relief
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of capital gains tax forgone through providing entrepreneur's relief in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answered by David Gauke
Latest estimates of the cost of Entrepreneurs’ Relief, amount to £3.0bn for 2014-15, and £2.7bn for 2013-14. These can be found in table 1.5 (Main tax expenditures and structural reliefs) at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389539/20141231_expenditure_reliefs_v0.3.pdf
This publication does not include an estimate for 2012-13; the latest published estimate for 2012-13 is £2.1bn.
The estimated cost of this relief from capital gains tax does not represent the yield if this relief were to be abolished, as consequential behavioural effects would substantially reduce yield.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to establish a grant scheme to support charities providing rapid response vehicles for medical purposes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is currently finalising the administration arrangements for the rapid response grant scheme which will open for applications this financial year. The scheme will cover the VAT costs incurred in the purchasing and fitting out of medical emergency rapid response vehicles by charities which are not already in scope of existing VAT refund schemes or are not already funded for VAT. The total grant available across the UK will be £100,000 in 2015-16.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a Green ISA scheme to encourage public engagement with, and inject capital into, the green economy.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
| The government currently has no plans to introduce a new Green ISA scheme. However, individuals can already invest in green products using the existing ISA structure as we have expanded ISA eligible investments to include a wider range of products such as AIM shares and soon, peer-to-peer loans. | |||||