Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the publication of the Turnbull Report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business, whether he has referred the Turnbull report to the Serious Fraud Office.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This is a matter for the operationally independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
This report was provided to the FCA and the police at the time, in 2014.
The FCA is currently investigating the extent and nature of the knowledge of the discovery of misconduct within HBOS Impaired Assets office in Reading and HBOS’ communications with the regulator after the initial discovery of the misconduct.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many court and tribunal cases (a) brought by HMRC and (b) against HMRC are awaiting a hearing.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This data is not collated centrally, and an accurate answer could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
The vast majority of HMRC cases are waiting to be heard before the First Tier Tribunal. At 31 March 2018, there were over 25,000 appeals on hand in the FTT. Over 16,000 of those appeals are ‘stood over’. This is where HMRC and the taxpayer have agreed to put the appeal on hold waiting for a decision in a related case. Stood over cases are not actively progressed by the tribunal and can remain on hand for many years while the lead case is decided.
There are approximately 9,000 lead cases actively making their way through the First Tier Tribunal where HMRC are either actively working the cases, progressing them within tribunal directions, or are waiting either to be heard by the tribunal or awaiting a tribunal decisions to be issued.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if will bring forward legislative proposals to exclude organisations involved in tax avoidance from preparing reports required by section 166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The contracting of Section 166 reports to external firms is a matter for the regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent people from organisations involved in tax avoidance from being permitted to sit on the HMRC Board.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The recruitment of Non-Executive Directors is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the appointment process includes vetting of candidates. HMRC takes significant care to make sure that individuals appointed to sit on the HMRC Board are suitable candidates.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has met representatives of the Channel Islands to discuss the potential publication of their registers of the beneficial ownership of companies.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Treasury Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories, and of overseas jurisdictions, to discuss issues of mutual importance.
The Government will use its best endeavours, diplomatically and with international partners, including through multilateral fora such as the G20, FATF and the OECD, to promote public registers of company beneficial ownership as the global standard by 2023. We would expect the Crown Dependencies to also adopt public registers in that event, and they have committed to doing so.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the tax tribunal's decision in the case of Stagecoach PLC and Stagecoach Group Holdings Limited v The Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs, what assessment he has made of the role of KPMG in selling the scheme which the tribunal found to be unlawful.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
During the last Parliament the Government announced over 35 measures and invested a further £800 million in HM Revenue and Customs to tackle tax avoidance and evasion. These measures include the Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes regime, introduced in Finance Act 2014, which aims to tackle the behaviour of certain promoters who meet various threshold conditions.
The Government is going further in this Finance Bill with a new Enablers’ penalty which tackles the wider supply chain of those involved in developing and implementing tax avoidance schemes.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Government of Jersey on the closing of BHS.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in its inquiry into the Panama Papers.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
I refer the Honourable Member for Luton North to my response to question 105360 on 12 October 2017.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals (a) to amend section 841 of the UK Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 to withdraw recognition of the securities issued at the Channel Islands Stock Exchange and (b) under which UK companies would be required to withhold 20 per cent from the payment of interest to all Jersey-based companies and remit that sum to HM Revenue and Customs.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The quoted Eurobond exemption is a longstanding exemption which enables UK companies to access investment capital from foreign markets and reduces frictions in financial markets. In response to concerns about the use of interest payments to shift taxable profits overseas, the Government has recently introduced a restriction on the deductibility of corporate interest expense. The rules ensure that companies cannot use excess deductions for interest expense to reduce their taxable profits and erode the UK tax base. This is forecast to raise approx. £1bn per annum.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an independent inquiry into tax avoidance schemes used by BHS.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and evasion at all levels to ensure everyone, no matter who they are, pays the right amount of tax at the right time. Last year, HMRC brought in a record additional £29 billion by cracking down on avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.
The Government is legislating for over ten measures in the current Finance Bill to further crackdown on those who try to avoid or evade paying the tax that is owed. This includes a penalty for those who enable the use of tax avoidance schemes that are later defeated by HMRC – which builds on the action which has already been taken in tackling marketed avoidance.