Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of compliance with Air Passenger Duty by (a) private and (b) business jets.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Private and business jets that meet certain criteria must register and account for air passenger duty (APD). APD is a self-assessed tax, and it is the responsibility of the aircraft operator to ensure they have accounted for the tax correctly. Smaller and infrequent flyers have the option to declare the tax via the Occasional Operator Scheme. HMRC undertakes a risk-based audit programme to ensure compliance from the aviation sector and has a range of penalties to deter non-compliance.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) cancelling or (b) refunding penalties for late tax returns when there is no tax due to be paid on taxpayers.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC issues self assessment tax returns to customers when the information they hold suggests that the customer meets the published criteria for completing one. HMRC often cannot determine someone’s tax liability until they have sent in a tax return, therefore they need the return to establish whether there is tax due or not.
HMRC charges late final penalties to encourage customers to file on time but they can cancel a customer’s late filing penalty if they have a reasonable excuse. Customers can also ask HMRC to remove them from the SA process for future years if they no longer meet the criteria.
HMRC is currently reforming late payment and late filing penalties. The aim is to encourage those who persistently default to comply with their tax obligations rather than penalise those who make occasional errors.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of closing the self-assessment helpline for three months on taxpayers.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I refer my Honourable friend to the reply given to the Honourable Member for North Ayrshire and Arran reference UIN 196363.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of exempting automated external defibrillators from VAT relief on the accessibility of defibrillators in public spaces.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
The Government is currently inviting community organisations to bid for funding as part of a £1 million grant scheme that expands public access to AEDs, particularly in public places where they are most needed.
In addition, in June 2023, the Government met its commitment to ensure that all state-funded schools in England have access to a life-saving defibrillator.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of VAT fraud; and what steps he is taking to tackle VAT fraud.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue and Customs published “Measuring tax gaps 2023” in June: Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition: tax gap estimates for 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure competition in providing merchant services to businesses in the (a) leisure sector and (b) other high-risk sectors.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The government’s vision for the payments sector includes enabling effective competition between payments providers – including merchant services – in the interests of consumers and businesses across the UK.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for promoting effective competition in the payments sector, including in relation to merchant services. Throughout 2021, following concerns that merchant acquiring services were not delivering good outcomes for businesses, and ultimately consumers, the PSR undertook a Card Acquiring Market Review. In October 2022, the PSR published its final proposed remedies to enable greater competition, transparency, and choice for merchants dependent on the card-acquiring market. These include requirements for acquirers to provide clear pricing information to merchants; to notify merchants when their contract is about to expire; and imposes a maximum permissible contract for ‘Point-of-Sale’ device to 18 months.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to reinstate VAT relief for the installation of energy saving materials in buildings intended for use solely for a relevant charitable purpose.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) in buildings intended for use solely for a relevant charitable purpose was previously eligible for VAT relief. However, as this was found to be incompatible with EU law, the relief was narrowed to exclude charitable buildings from August 2013.
At Spring Budget 2023, the Government published a call for evidence on reform to the VAT relief for ESMs. Given that the UK has now left the EU, the call for evidence is seeking views on this VAT relief.
The call for evidence is open until 31 May 2023, after which the Government will publish a summary of responses. Any decisions on potential changes to the VAT relief will not be made before this consultation process concludes.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which (a) lower-strength and (b) alcohol-free alcohol substitute (i) products and (ii) brands are exempted from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
HMRC does not maintain a list of products and brands that are exempt from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and there is no requirement for such drinks to be reported to HMRC.
The question of whether a particular product is exempt therefore depends on the specific facts and content of any given soft drink. Further guidance is provided at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-your-drink-is-liable-for-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a pilot scheme to raise the VAT threshold for businesses on the Isles of Scilly, to assess the impact on businesses of having fewer barriers to a longer season.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why we maintain the highest VAT registration threshold in the OECD, and when compared to EU Member States, at £85,000. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether.
Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment.
Whilst the Government keeps all taxes under review, we announced at Budget 2021 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2024.