Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people seeking refunds due to the changes made by the Morse Review have been refunded by HMRC.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Loan Charge was announced at Budget 2016 as part of a package of measures to tackle Disguised Remuneration (DR) tax avoidance which was costed as a whole. At Spring Statement 2022, this package was estimated to bring in an estimated overall Exchequer yield of £3.4 billion. The changes resulting from the 2019 independent review of the Loan Charge are estimated to reduce the Exchequer yield by £620 million.
Following Lord Morse’s Independent Loan Charge Review in 2019, HMRC established the DR Repayment Scheme 2020 to repay voluntary payments that taxpayers had agreed to make as part of settlements concluded before changes were made to the scope of the Loan Charge. Individuals and employers had until 30 September 2021 to apply to HMRC for a refund or waiver.
HMRC repays amounts that were paid in DR scheme settlements, and/or waives amounts of instalments due that have not yet been paid if certain conditions are met.
As of 28 October 2022, HMRC had processed over 2350 applications, of which over 1350 had received either a repayment, a waiver, or both. Over 1000 of the applications processed at that date were either invalid or ineligible.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the Loan Charge is estimated to raise, separate from other measures.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Loan Charge was announced at Budget 2016 as part of a package of measures to tackle Disguised Remuneration (DR) tax avoidance which was costed as a whole. At Spring Statement 2022, this package was estimated to bring in an estimated overall Exchequer yield of £3.4 billion. The changes resulting from the 2019 independent review of the Loan Charge are estimated to reduce the Exchequer yield by £620 million.
Following Lord Morse’s Independent Loan Charge Review in 2019, HMRC established the DR Repayment Scheme 2020 to repay voluntary payments that taxpayers had agreed to make as part of settlements concluded before changes were made to the scope of the Loan Charge. Individuals and employers had until 30 September 2021 to apply to HMRC for a refund or waiver.
HMRC repays amounts that were paid in DR scheme settlements, and/or waives amounts of instalments due that have not yet been paid if certain conditions are met.
As of 28 October 2022, HMRC had processed over 2350 applications, of which over 1350 had received either a repayment, a waiver, or both. Over 1000 of the applications processed at that date were either invalid or ineligible.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Business, Energy and Industry Strategy Committee Select Committee hearing on 15 March 2022, for what reason HMRC was unable to provide banks with access to revenue data for companies applying for covid-related finance products.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary of HMRC wrote to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee concerning HMRC’s data-sharing with banks on 24 March 2022: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9452/documents/161409/default/.
HMRC has always stood ready to assist the banks to prevent and tackle fraud in the Covid-19 loan schemes. At no time has HMRC declined to share data for this purpose.