Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is a statutory basis for HMRC's policy to promote among employers the use of statements on payslips supporting the National Insurance contributions rise in April 2022.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
There is no statutory obligation on employers to include statements on payslips explaining the rise in National Insurance contributions (NICs).
The temporary increases to rates of NICs for the tax year 2022-23 precede the introduction of the Health and Social Care levy as a new, separate tax from April 2023. The legislation which introduces the Levy requires it to be separately identified on payslips, alongside NICs and Income Tax, from April 2023 onwards.
HMRC, as part of their role in promoting greater understanding of the tax system, have asked employers to include factual messaging on payslips in 2022-23 to highlight the temporary change in NICs rates before the new Levy begins in 2023-24, however this is not mandatory.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle fraud in the covid-19 business support schemes.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has consistently stated that fraud is unacceptable, and we are taking action on multiple fronts to recover money lost to error and fraud and, where necessary, take legal action on those who have sought to exploit the Covid support schemes. It was right to establish the schemes quickly and in a way that they could be accessed easily by the millions who needed support.
Given the unprecedented efforts that the Government have made to protect jobs and livelihoods during this pandemic, it would have been impossible to prevent all related fraud. However, we have taken reasonable steps, and will continue to do so, to deflect and combat that fraud, and we will continue to be vigilant.
Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key COVID-19 support schemes from their inception. For instance, to minimise the risk of fraud and error and unverified claims, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme were designed in a way to prevent ineligible claims being made up front, and made payments for employees and businesses using existing data held on HMRC’s systems. That included cut-off dates around scheme eligibility and the need for customers to be registered for pay-as-you-earn online or self-assessment.
To further bolster anti-fraud measures on HMRC-delivered covid support schemes, at the Spring Budget last year, the Government invested more than £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of more than 1,200 HMRC staff to combat Covid-related fraud. This Taskforce is expected to recover between £800 million and £1 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments during 2021-22 and 2022-23. In addition, HMRC has so far stopped or recovered £743 million of overclaimed grants in 2020/21.
Regarding the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the Government continues to work closely with the British Business Bank, lenders and enforcement agencies to tackle fraud and to recover as many fraudulent loans as possible. This is on top of the £2.2 billion worth of fraudulent applications that were prevented by upfront checks.
In addition, as part of the Spring Budget last year, we announced plans to significantly strengthen enforcement activity against fraudulent Bounce Back Loans, including new powers for the Insolvency Service to tackle rogue directors and investing in the National Investigation Service to investigate serious fraud.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has consulted representatives of (a) the travel industry and b) representatives of covid-19 test providers on the potential merits of removing VAT from the cost of covid-19 test services required for travel abroad; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent normally applies to most goods and services, including PCR tests. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising about £130 billion in 2019/20. This helped to fund the Government's priorities in key areas such as health, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
Medical testing, where it is administered by registered health professionals, is exempt from VAT. The Government also continues to offer free COVID-19 testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms.
Competition among private providers in the market for COVID-19 tests has already worked to reduce the cost of PCR tests significantly, without Government intervention, and the Government expects these prices to continue to decrease over time. In order to reflect the recent reduction in the price of PCR tests that are available privately, NHS Test and Trace has already decreased the cost of the tests that they provide for international arrivals.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the Exchequer of removing VAT from the price of covid-19 test services in each quarter in 2021-22.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent normally applies to most goods and services, including PCR tests. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising about £130 billion in 2019/20. This helped to fund the Government's priorities in key areas such as health, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
Medical testing, where it is administered by registered health professionals, is exempt from VAT. The Government also continues to offer free COVID-19 testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms.
Competition among private providers in the market for COVID-19 tests has already worked to reduce the cost of PCR tests significantly, without Government intervention, and the Government expects these prices to continue to decrease over time. In order to reflect the recent reduction in the price of PCR tests that are available privately, NHS Test and Trace has already decreased the cost of the tests that they provide for international arrivals.