Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the £250,000 threshold for purchase under the help to buy ISA scheme in response to rising costs in the property market.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help.
The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 410,075 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,010 compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £220,406. The Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to support proposals to establish a global centre for secure intelligent regulatory technologies in Northern Ireland.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is committed to maintaining the UK’s position a world-leading destination for fintech.
In line with this ambition, the Government is taking forward key recommendations of the independent Kalifa Review of UK Fintech as part of ensuring the UK remains at the global cutting edge of technology and innovation in financial services.
Government funding for future years will be confirmed as part of the Spending Review which will be announced on 27th October.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of inviting applications for the fourth grant of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme earlier than mid-April 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.
The Government also announced a significant change in access to the SEISS. Basing the fourth and fifth grants on 2019-20 Self Assessment tax returns means more than 600,000 people are brought into scope who either became self-employed in 2019-20; or were ineligible for previous grants, but now may be eligible for the fourth grant on the basis of submitting their 2019-20 tax return.
Using these returns requires time to deliver, due to the increased population and new data. In order to allow HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) time to process 2019-20 tax returns it has not been possible to invite applications or open the claims service earlier.
Individuals must have submitted their 2019-20 tax return by 2 March to be considered for the SEISS. This date balances access for the vast majority of eligible self-employed individuals, with the duty to protect the taxpayer against fraud as the details of the SEISS grants became public.
HMRC will open the online claims service for the fourth SEISS grant from late April 2021 and expects to notify potentially eligible people of their personal claim date from mid-April.
The SEISS is just one part of a wider package of support for the self-employed, including Restart Grants, the Recovery Loan scheme, business rates relief, and other business support schemes.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT on refurbishment, repair and maintenance of buildings from 20 per cent to five per cent.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government already maintains a reduced rate of VAT at five per cent, subject to certain conditions, for residential renovations.
Introducing a zero rate of VAT would come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, estimated at about £4 billion per year, which would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, higher borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere. While the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to change the VAT treatment of the repair and renovation of buildings.A
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 deadline for submission of tax returns given the varying and continuing covid-19 restrictions throughout the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has carefully considered the arguments for extending the Self-Assessment filing date from 31 January and has decided on balance not to do so. The January deadline has been in place for many years and changing it could undermine customer understanding and trust in how the Self-Assessment system works. However, the Government recognises that some taxpayers will have difficulty submitting their Self-Assessment return due to the impact COVID-19 has had on their personal or business circumstances.
HMRC do not charge penalties for failure to submit a return on time where taxpayers have a reasonable excuse. HMRC’s guidance explains that they will accept the impact of COVID-19 as a reasonable excuse for submitting a return late, provided that taxpayers explain how they were affected and submit the return as soon as they can. More information is available in the HMRC online guidance covering the reasonable excuse provisions.
Once they have submitted their return, taxpayers who are unable to pay all of their Self-Assessment tax due on 31 January can access HMRC’s enhanced Time to Pay arrangements. These allow liabilities of up to £30,000 – increased from £10,000 – to be paid in up to 12 instalments without having to contact HMRC beforehand.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of delaying plans to bring funeral plan providers under the remit of the Funeral Planning Authority in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is committed to strengthening regulation of the pre-paid funeral plan sector. As part of the Budget, and following consultation, the Chancellor announced the government’s intention to legislate to bring pre-paid funeral plan firms within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This will ensure that, for the first time, all firms offering pre-paid funeral plans are subject to compulsory and robust regulation.
The government intends to lay the necessary legislation very soon. Once this legislation is made, there will be an implementation period before the new regulatory framework comes fully into force. This will allow time for funeral plan providers and firms which sell plans to take the necessary steps to meet the new regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying the Stamp Duty exemption retrospectively for house sales within the agreed thresholds since the start of the (a) covid-19 lockdown and (b) current financial year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
To boost the housing market and confidence, the Government has decided to cut Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) by temporarily increasing the nil band rate of SDLT to £500,000. This applies from 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021.
Property sales which have not yet been substantially performed will still be eligible to take advantage of the Stamp Duty Holiday.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in air passenger duty was outstanding from Flybe when the company entered administration.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The government takes tax compliance seriously, including recovering any unpaid taxation from companies in administration. However, HMRC has a duty of confidentiality and individual taxpayer information cannot be disclosed.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of giving directors of limited companies capped access to the Self-employed Income Support Scheme of up to £2,500 per month; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Those who pay themselves a salary through their own company may be eligible to claim for 80% of usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The CJRS is available to employers, including personal service companies, and individuals paying themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible. Where furloughed directors need to carry out particular duties to fulfil the statutory obligations they owe to their company, they may do so provided they do no more than would reasonably be judged necessary for that purpose, i.e. they should not do work of a kind they would carry out in normal circumstances to generate commercial revenue or provides services to or on behalf of their company.
Income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages, and is not eligible for support. Under current reporting mechanisms it is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, and between dividends in lieu of employment income and as returns from other corporate activity. Expanding the scope would require HMRC to collect and verify new information. This would take longer to deliver and put at risk the other schemes which the Government is committed to delivering as quickly as possible.
Those who are not eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme might be able to access the other support Government is providing, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at?www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the 2019-20 tax returns of self-employed graduates under the Self-employed Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It has not been possible to include those who began trading after the 2018-19 tax year in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. This was a very difficult decision and it was taken for practical reasons. It is correct that individuals can now submit Income Tax Self Assessment returns for 2019-20, but there would be significant risks for the public purse if the Government relied on these returns for the scheme. HMRC would not be able to distinguish genuine self-employed individuals who started trading in 2019-20 from fake applications by fraudulent operators and organised criminal gangs seeking to exploit the SEISS. The Government cannot expose the tax system to these risks.
However, those who entered self-employment after April 2019 may still be eligible for other support. For example, the self-employed can benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit. The SEISS supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/