Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the economic effect of the rise in (a) fuel and (b) energy costs on small businesses.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Businesses are experiencing increased costs driven by global events. One of these extra costs is fuel. At Spring Statement, we announced a 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre, for the benefit of businesses as well as individuals. More broadly, we are helping SMEs through tax cuts to national insurance and business rates.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the propriety of the business practices of Tax Credits Ltd and its relationship with HMRC.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC takes its obligations on customer confidentiality seriously and does not comment on the specific circumstances of any of its customers, whether they are companies, organisations, or individuals.Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his statement providing an Economy Update on 26 May 2022, what the Barnett consequential for Wales is; if he plans for funds to be made available to the Welsh government; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As the Chancellor set out in his statement to the House, in recognition of the challenges people are facing as a result of the rising cost of living, the UK Government is providing an additional £15 billion of support.
The majority of this support is being provided directly to households across the UK and is on top of the support announced in February and at Spring Statement. In addition, the Welsh Government is receiving around £25m from the Household Support Fund through the Barnett formula.
The full details of the support announced, including Barnett consequentials for the devolved administrations, were set out in the Chancellor’s statement of the 26 May and the accompanying press release.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the time-limited zero-rate of VAT to the purchasing of certain types of energy saving materials by individuals looking to improve their homes for themselves.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
At Spring Statement 2022 the Chancellor announced that the VAT relief for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) would be expanded in Great Britain from 1 April 2022.
The relief continues to apply to the installation, including materials and labour costs, of ESMs, rather than the purchase of the materials themselves. However, complex eligibility conditions, introduced in 2019 following an EU Court of Justice ruling, have been removed.
Further to this, wind and water turbines have been reinstated as materials which qualify for the relief, and all qualifying installations will now also benefit from a temporary VAT zero-rate until April 2027. Overall, this represents an additional £280 million of support for investment in ESMs over the next 5 years, building on the £9.7 billion that the Government has committed to invest since March 2021 to increase the energy efficiency and decarbonisation of our homes and buildings.
Targeting the VAT relief to professional installations ensures that Government support incentivises best practice in the choice and installation of ESMs. Going further would impose significant additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes an important contribution.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to allow recipients of income through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to alter the rate of income tax paid on that income over time.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government has supported UK households throughout the pandemic with nearly £400 billion of COVID support, including through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which provided over £28 billion in grants to 2.9 million individuals.
The Government does not think it is right to allow SEISS recipients to alter the rate of tax paid on that income over time. The tax paid on a SEISS grant will depend on an individual’s profits, any other taxable income, and allowances to which a person is entitled. The grants are taxable at the recipient’s rate of Income Tax in the year they were received.
The Government has implemented an unprecedented package of support for taxpayers struggling with paying tax liabilities. HMRC has scaled up its longstanding Time to Pay policy, which allows any business or individual in temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts into affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalment arrangements.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the £9 billion energy bills rebate scheme the Welsh Government will receive; and how much of that will be new funding.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Government recognises the pressures people are facing. Our £9.1 billion Energy Bills Rebate includes a £200 energy bill discount for households in Great Britain this Autumn. On top of this, households in England will receive a £150 Council Tax rebate from April. This is new funding and the Welsh Government will receive around £180 million through the Barnett formula as a result.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of covid-19 support scheme-related fraud by NUTS1 region.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support for the economy since the start of the pandemic, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK.
This package has included a wide range of different COVID-19 support schemes for businesses, delivered by a variety of Government departments, either directly, via their arms-length bodies, or via local authorities.
Departments are required to disclose details of material fraud, evasion and error within their annual report and accounts. From 2021-22, departments must provide an evidenced estimate of the level of fraud and error specifically in respect of the COVID-19 related schemes they administer and the level of debt as a result of that fraud and error. There is currently no requirement to break down this data by region and therefore it is not possible to provide an estimate of covid-19 support scheme-related fraud by NUTS1 region.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has the Treasury made of the efficacy of introducing a price-cap on software to be used under the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax regime.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government expects software compatible with Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self-Assessment to be available at a range of prices, as we have seen with software for MTD for VAT. We have committed to free market-provided products which meet customers’ basic MTD needs. Many software options will combine MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment functions with other tools, such as invoicing, giving businesses the opportunity for wider digital benefits.
For MTD for VAT, software developers are currently providing 22 free products, supporting the smallest businesses and landlords with straightforward affairs. HMRC has liaised extensively with the software market to ensure a range of software products, which includes affordable and free options, are made available to businesses. Some software providers have also indicated that current MTD for VAT software is likely to be upgraded for free for MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which provisions within the capital super-deduction allowance specifically incentivise investment in the green transition.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The super-deduction provides businesses with the biggest two-year tax cut in modern British history, providing upfront support to encourage businesses to invest in the equipment they need, including more efficient equipment to support the transition to net zero.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the existing tax regime in respect of electricity consumption for electric vehicle charging.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no plans to review the current rate of VAT applied to electric vehicle charging (EV).
In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including the consumption for electric vehicles charging at home, attracts the reduced rate of VAT (five per cent). However, electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT (twenty per cent).
HMRC is currently reviewing the way in which businesses are able to reclaim the VAT incurred for the charging of electric vehicles. As part of this, VAT Notice 700/64 (Motoring Expenses) was updated on 6 January to provide further clarification. The review is ongoing and will conclude later this year.