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 - Leader of HM Official Opposition
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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/
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 including medical service providers within the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England through business rates relief, given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. Business rates in Northern Ireland are devolved.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as medical service providers, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank. The Government is also deferring VAT payments for this quarter.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to prevent foreign companies and hedge funds benefiting from the fall in share prices of British companies by purchasing shares at a cheaper cost.
Answered by John Glen
This question likely refers to the practise of short selling. We are working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to monitor the volatility in market prices over the past weeks as a result of the impacts of coronavirus (Covid-19).
On Monday 23 March, the FCA stated that aggregate net short selling activity reported to it had been low as a percentage of total market activity and had decreased in recent days. The FCA also stated that there is no evidence that short selling has been the driver of recent market falls. The FCA is continuing to monitor short selling activity closely.
Some European countries have introduced short selling bans, which the FCA has followed in respect of shares for which relevant European National Competent Authorities (NCAs) are responsible. The FCA has not introduced such a ban in the UK? ?and neither has any other major financial market outside the EU, including the United States. It is our view that there should be a high bar to imposing such a ban in the UK given the ?role short selling can ?play in the maintenance of open and liquid markets. This is, however, an evolving situation and we are continually evaluating our approach to ensure it is the right one for consumers.
Significant research has previously been done to examine whether bans on short selling, such as those enforced during the financial crisis in 2008, can be effective in stopping stock market falls. The evidence suggested that they were not – pricing continued to fall and so the volatility of the markets persisted.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timescale is for the completion of the review of IR35 tax regulations.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The review of the off-payroll working rules reform (also known as IR35) was announced on 7 January 2020. As set out at Budget 2018, the reform is due to be extended to medium and large organisations in all sectors from 6 April 2020. The review is looking to determine if any further steps can be taken to ensure smooth and successful implementation of the reform. The review will conclude by mid-February 2020, after which point the recommendations will be made public.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) practical, (b) financial and (c) other support Northern Ireland Government Departments have provided to applicants in preparing their applications, designs, cost planning, option appraisals, business cases and green book appraisals for Financial Transactions Capital funding.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Treasury sets the Northern Ireland administration’s overall Financial Transaction Capital budget through the normal operation of the Barnett formula.
The allocation and use of Financial Transactions Capital is a devolved function and a matter for the Northern Ireland administration. This includes determining Northern Ireland departmental budget profiles and providing support for applicants for Financial Transactions Capital funding.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the profiled budgets are for Financial Transactions Capital funding in each Northern Ireland Government Department in each of the next five years.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Treasury sets the Northern Ireland administration’s overall Financial Transaction Capital budget through the normal operation of the Barnett formula.
The allocation and use of Financial Transactions Capital is a devolved function and a matter for the Northern Ireland administration. This includes determining Northern Ireland departmental budget profiles and providing support for applicants for Financial Transactions Capital funding.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government have taken to encourage Northern Ireland Government Departments through (a) the Programme for Government and (b) other initiatives to (i) use and (ii) maximise Financial Transactions Capital to deliver departmental objectives with third party organisations and partners.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Treasury sets the Northern Ireland administration’s overall Financial Transaction Capital budget through the normal operation of the Barnett formula.
The allocation and use of Financial Transactions Capital is a devolved function and a matter for the Northern Ireland administration.
Further to this funding, the UK government is committed to supporting the Northern Ireland economy. This is demonstrated, for example, by the £400m the government is investing in City Deals for Belfast and Derry/Londonderry and Strabane City Region.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which (a) projects and (b) schemes in Northern Ireland were funded in (a) part and (b) in whole by financial transactions capital since 2012-13; and what the chargeable interest rate was for that funding.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
I refer the Honourable Member to the response to PQ UIN 4378 on 28 October 2019.