Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Quin Excerpts
Tuesday 18th July 2017

(6 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Steve Barclay Portrait Stephen Barclay
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The hon. Gentleman will welcome the Government’s record investment of £500 million in T-levels, to tackle exactly the issue that he has raised in technical education. The Government’s commitment can also be seen in apprenticeships. Whereas under the last Labour Government there were just 280,000 apprenticeship starts, there were more than half a million last year under this Government.

Jeremy Quin Portrait Jeremy Quin (Horsham) (Con)
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16. What effect the reduction in corporation tax rates has had on receipts from that tax.

Mel Stride Portrait The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mel Stride)
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Since 2010 the headline corporation tax rate has been cut from 28% to 19%. Despite that, onshore corporation tax receipts have increased by more than 50%, from £36.2 billion in 2010-11 to £55.1 billion in 2016-17.

Jeremy Quin Portrait Jeremy Quin
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According to KPMG, we have the second-most competitive tax regime anywhere in the G7. Does my hon. Friend agree that that encourages businesses to locate here and boosts our tax receipts?

Mel Stride Portrait Mel Stride
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My hon. Friend is entirely right. The OECD has made it very clear that corporation tax increases are the most harmful tax increases for economic growth. By keeping business taxes down, in 2015-16 we saw a record number of inward investment projects creating more than 1,600 jobs per week.