Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing regulations to prevent companies who employ temporary agency contractors operating disguised remuneration schemes before the reforms to off-payroll working rules are made in April 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It is possible to comply with the off-payroll working rules without using disguised remuneration schemes. The Government remains committed to tackling the continued use of disguised remuneration schemes, and set out further action to tackle these schemes at the Budget. HMRC have already published a factsheet to support contractors to prepare for the changes to the off-payroll working rules, and are continuing to step up their communications in the run up to implementation. HMRC have also launched further products to support contractors in understanding the changes, including a self-help guide on how to spot tax avoidance schemes.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on employment rights of the proposed reforms to off-payroll working rules.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It is fair that two people working as employees pay broadly the same tax and NICs, even if one of them works through their own company and the other is directly employed. There is no direct link between employment status for rights and employment status for tax; however, those who wish to challenge their employment status for rights can take their case to an employment tribunal, regardless of their tax status.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on labour market flexibility of the proposed reforms to off-payroll working rules.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As announced at Budget 2018, the reform of the off-payroll working rules will come into effect from 6 April 2020. The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019 sets out HMRC’s assessment that the reform to the off-payroll working rules is expected to affect 170,000 individuals. The TIIN can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020.
As part of the review published on 27 February 2020, HMRC engaged with a number of affected individuals and businesses through a series of stakeholder roundtables to test business readiness.
The Government is committed to working with organisations to ensure changes to the off-payroll working rules are implemented correctly from April 2020. HMRC are undertaking an extensive programme of education and support to help organisations prepare for the reform. This includes:
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to improve the usability of the Check Employment Status Tool ahead of the introduction of reforms to the off-payroll working rules.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC developed the Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) online tool to help organisations and individuals determine employment status for tax and decide whether the off-payroll working rules apply.
The CEST service was developed in conjunction with tax specialists, contractors and other stakeholders. It was rigorously tested against established case law and settled cases to ensure it provides accurate results in line with current binding judgments. In the vast majority of uses, CEST will determine whether the engagement is employed or self-employed for tax purposes. HMRC will stand by CEST’s results provided accurate and correct information is used, in accordance with their guidance.
In November 2019, HMRC launched an enhanced version of CEST, having worked with over 300 stakeholders to identify improvements. The tool’s enhancements included making questions and the results clearer, increasing the number of questions to provide a more thorough assessment, and building in features to reduce user errors.
Since launch, HMRC have monitored customer feedback and have updated the tool’s language where this improves the customer experience. This includes providing additional help text and links to off-payroll guidance in HMRC’s Employment Status Manual. HMRC are continuing to monitor feedback with a view to making future usability updates.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate resources to HMRC in the forthcoming Budget to help ensure that people who promoted the Loan Charge scheme are held accountable.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is determined to continue to tackle promoters of tax avoidance schemes, including disguised remuneration schemes. HMRC are on track to deliver the Government’s commitment to double the resources dedicated to tackling promoters by the end of 2019-20.
In the response to the Loan Charge review, the Government announced a package of measures to reduce the scope for promoters to market tax avoidance schemes. HMRC have committed to publishing a revised strategy for tackling promoters of tax avoidance schemes by the end of March 2020.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HMRC Alcohol Duty Statistics (October 2019), what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in duty on wine in 2019 Budget on duty receipts from wine.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Announced at Budget 2018, Wine Duty rates on ‘wine of fresh grape’ and ‘made-wine’ at or below 22% Alcohol by Volume (ABV) increased by Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation from 1 February 2019.
Between February 2019 and January 2020, HMRC received £4,406 million from Wine Duty; an increase of £94.9 million (2.2%) compared to February 2018 to January 2019. The latest Wine Duty receipts are published in ‘HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
HMRC do not receive information on brands, prices and volumes and are therefore unable to disaggregate how much of this increase is linked to the 1 February 2019 RPI rate rise compared to other wine market changes.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will take steps to reduce excise duty on UK spirits.
Answered by Jesse Norman
All taxes are kept under review, and any changes to tax will be announced through the Budget process.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a review of alcohol duty and postpone changes to excise duty collection arrangements for post duty point dilution until the results of that review are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As committed to in the manifesto, the Government will undertake a review of alcohol duties. Further announcements will be made in due course.
However, there are no plans to postpone the prohibitive actions against post duty point dilution for wine. UK drinks manufacturers have been given over 18 months’ notice to adapt their business models. The Treasury does keep all taxes under review, including their impact on drink manufacturers.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to further regulate tax advisers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As announced in the response to the independent review of the loan charge, the Government will launch a call for evidence on what steps it can take to raise standards in the tax advice market.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Prime Minister, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament’s report on the Russian threat to the UK is published without delay.
Answered by Boris Johnson
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member the Member for Midlothian on 5 February 2020, Official Report, Col. 314.