Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reduce the level of VAT applicable to construction companies involved in the conversion of non-residential buildings to residential use.
Answered by David Gauke
The sale of, or long lease in, non-residential buildings that have been converted to residential use is, subject to certain criteria, zero-rated for VAT.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will remove the fuel duty escalator on liquefied petroleum gas.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) differential reduces by 1 penny per litre per year, which is a continuation of the approach set out by the two previous Administrations. This reflects the greater natural environmental damage caused by LPG compared with other road fuel gases as outlined in the 2003 Alternative Fuels Framework. However, like all taxes, fuel duties are kept under review with the Government announcing any changes at fiscal events.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Summer Budget 2015 has an equal impact on men and women.
Answered by Damian Hinds
In line with both the Government’s commitment to fairness and its legal obligations, ministers carefully considered the policy implications for men and women when developing and deciding upon Summer Budget measures.
As with other public sector bodies, HM Treasury is required (under the Equality Act 2010) to pay due regard, in the course of fulfilling its functions, to the implications of its decisions for those with specified ‘protected characteristics’. ‘Sex’ is one of these protected characteristics.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department gives to ensure that the implications of missing national insurance contributions are made clear to those concerned at the time they are missed.
Answered by David Gauke
There is a range of guidance available to help a person understand the implications of not paying national insurance. A person’s record can be made up of national insurance contributions and credits from a variety of sources. When these are posted to the individual’s contributions record after the end of the tax year the individual may have insufficient contributions on their account for that year to qualify for certain benefits. These gaps in a person’s national insurance contributions record may be filled by the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions.
HM Revenue and Customs has published guidance on GOV.UK that explains when the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions may be beneficial, eligibility, rates and how and when to pay. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the proportion of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses with an annual turnover under (a) £150,000 and (b) £250,000.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs does not routinely publish estimates of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the level of existing VAT thresholds for small businesses.
Answered by David Gauke
The UK has chosen to maintain a high VAT registration threshold, and it is currently the highest in the EU (at £82,000 from 1 April 2015). We believe that the UK’s current registration threshold achieves a reasonable balance between competing interests and reduces the administrative burden on the smallest businesses.
The Government may not increase this threshold further, aside from maintaining its value in line with inflation, without the consent of the European Commission and the unanimous agreement of all EU Member States.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of devolution of air passenger duty on regional airports.
Answered by Damian Hinds
In light of the decision to devolve APD to Scotland and consider the case for devolving APD to Wales, the government has recently published a discussion paper exploring options to support English regional airports from the impacts of APD devolution. We are considering the evidence that we have received from stakeholders, and will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for calls to HM Revenue and Customs.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) accepts that its performance was inconsistent during 2014-15 and has recently outlined actions taken to improve customer service. These include recruitment of additional staff and investment in new technology.
The department has allocated £45 million, supporting the recruitment of an additional 3,000 customer service staff to answer calls and deal with customer correspondence. HMRC is also temporarily moving around 2,000 additional people from other parts of HMRC into customer service roles to support the tax credits peak.
Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has for future policy on pension tax relief.
Answered by David Gauke
The Summer Budget 2015 announced that the government is consulting on whether there is a case for reforming pensions tax relief to strengthen the incentive to save.
To help control the cost of pensions tax relief in the short term, the Summer Budget also confirmed the manifesto commitment to introduce a taper to the Annual Allowance for those with incomes, including pension contributions, above £150,000.