Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to waive Insurance Premium Tax on leaseholders' premiums that have increased as a result of the building's non-compliance with EWS1 tests.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Insurance Premium Tax is a tax paid by insurers on all general insurance premiums. Insurance pricing is a decision which is affected by a wide range of factors, and the taxes that insurers pay are just one part of this. It is hard to predict the impact of an exemption on insurance pricing for leaseholders, as this largely depends on how the insurers would react. In addition, any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
While there are no current plan to introduce an exemption on insurance pricing for leaseholders, all taxes are kept under review and the views expressed to us are carefully considered as part of the annual Budget process.
The Government is working closely with lenders and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors to address problems faced by homeowners caught up in EWS1 processes.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the 100 per cent first year allowance on the purchase of electric vehicles to include the rental sector in order to facilitate the transition from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The existing 100 per cent first year allowances, which are available for the purchase of electric vehicles in respect of business cars and zero emission goods vehicles, are being extended to 2025 in order to continue to incentivise the transition to zero CO2 emission vehicles. First year allowances are not available for equipment purchased for leasing; there are no plans to introduce this for zero emission goods vehicles or to reintroduce it for low emission cars, as such assets could be leased overseas. This ensures that the environmental benefits of such incentives remain within the UK to assist the Government in achieving its wider commitment to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a new annual investment allowance for electric vehicle infrastructure which would allow 100 per cent of investment costs for all electric vehicle infrastructure to be offset against corporation tax.
Answered by Jesse Norman
A specific capital allowance is currently available to businesses investing in new equipment for electric vehicle charging points. This can provide a tax deduction of 100 per cent of the investment for the tax period in which it is incurred. It is available for qualifying expenditure for businesses chargeable to UK corporation tax until 31 March 2023, and those chargeable to income tax until 5 April 2023.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans in the forthcoming spending review to announce Additional High Needs funding to March 2024, with that funding allocated to councils based on an assessment of local need rather than historical spend.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The upcoming Spending Review is a one-year exercise that will set departmental resource and capital budgets for 2021-22.
My RHF the Chancellor will set out the government’s spending plans that will focus on tackling Covid-19.
The government is committed to the multi-year resource settlement for schools that was announced at Spending Round 2019. This has provided for a £780 million boost to high needs funding this year, and an additional £730 million next year, which will bring the total high needs budget to over £8 billion in 2021-22.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to amend the VAT liability on garages let to non-council tenants in order to remove the discrepancy between council and non-council tenants in respect of garage rental charges.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Under the current VAT rules, the supply of a garage or parking is exempt from VAT if supplied at the outset at the same time as the residential accommodation. This VAT treatment is consistent for both council and non-council tenants.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to reduce VAT on health and leisure sector memberships to promote healthy living.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Services linked with sport or physical education provided by certain bodies are exempt from VAT provided they are not run for profit. The services of profit making bodies are subject to the standard rate of VAT in line with the rules for normal business activity.
Extending the current exemption would come at a cost to the Exchequer. The Government has no plans to change the current VAT treatment of health and leisure memberships.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend the business rates holiday to the 2021-22 financial year for sectors affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government will continue to look at how to adjust its support in a way that ensures people can get back to work, protecting both the UK economy and the livelihoods of people across the country. The Government considers all reliefs in the round, against the broader fiscal and economic impacts of COVID-19, as part of the Business Rates Review.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allow people who are paid annually but their RTI was submitted after the 19 March for the 2019-20 tax year eligibility to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For an employee to be eligible for the CJRS, the employee must have been notified to HMRC on a real-time information (RTI) submission on or before 19 March.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions, including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020 which relates to a payment of earnings in the 2019/20 tax year.
Anyone paid annually and notified on an RTI submission after that date will not be eligible for the scheme. This position also applies to those who are paid more frequently and were not notified to HMRC on or before 19 March.
The 19 March date allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, and mitigates the risk of fraud that exists as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend (a) the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (b) mortgage payment holidays to cover the same period as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK has one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened on 13 May, ahead of schedule, and it provides support worth up to £7,500 each to millions of individuals. Recipients will have the grants in their bank accounts within six working days of making an application.
The Chancellor indicated that the SEISS would be temporary when he announced it at the end of March, and that it could be extended if necessary. The Government is keeping this under review.
The Government will also continue to work closely with lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that borrowers are supported during the present challenging times, especially if they are facing financial distress. Lenders are continuing to show forbearance as required, working together with borrowers to establish how they can best affordably and gradually get back on track. Borrowers concerned about their current financial situation should contact their lenders at the earliest possible opportunity.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a short term reduction in VAT on the economy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
VAT is an important source of revenue for the Exchequer, raising approximately £132 billion in 2018/2019. This plays an important part in funding the Government's spending priorities including hospitals, schools, and defence.
Reducing the standard rate would come at a considerable cost to the Exchequer, and that cost would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere, or reductions in government spending. Therefore, while all taxes are kept under review, there are currently no plans to reduce the standard rate of VAT.