Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what projection he has made of how much tax will be paid by oil and gas producers in 2022-23.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Forecasts for government revenues from oil and gas production are provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Their most recent published forecast, provided for Spring Statement 2022 on 23 March, is available on the OBR website at the following link https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2022/. HM Revenue and Customs publishes monthly tax receipts statistics, including for UK oil and gas production, on a cash receipts basis, at GOV.UK at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reintroducing the Job Retention Bonus to help support employment after the furlough scheme ends.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The purpose of the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) was to encourage employers to keep people in work until the end of January 2021. However, when it was announced in December 2020 that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would be extended to the end of April 2021, the policy intent of the JRB fell away.
As the health situation deteriorated rapidly last autumn and winter, it was right that the Government instead extended the CJRS to reflect the increased number of closures that were expected over autumn and winter. However, the situation has changed moving into summer 2021 with the roll-out of the vaccine and the firm footing that gives to economic reopening. In this context, extending the CJRS further at Budget 2021, to the end of September, allowed the Government to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it reopens, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 reduction in VAT to 5 per cent for tourism to amusement arcades.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. This relief already comes at a significant cost of over £7 billion to the Exchequer and, while the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to extend the scope of the reduced rate.
The Government has introduced a wider package of support worth billions to help businesses through the coronavirus period, which includes extensions to the furlough scheme; extensions to the COVID-19 loan schemes; grant support; a business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure business properties; mortgage holidays; enhanced Time to Pay for taxes; and VAT deferrals.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending Business Rates Relief to the end of the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Budget announced a three-month extension to the business rates holiday for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that was provided at Budget 2020. This means over 350,000 properties will pay no business rates for three months this year.
From 1 July 2021, 66% relief will be available subject to a cash cap that depends on whether businesses were required to close or were able to open on 5 January 2021. This additional relief takes the total value of support in 2021-22 to £6 billion and means the vast majority of businesses will on average receive 75% relief across the year.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that end-clients administer IR35 status accurately for contractors in instances where contractors are working in a genuinely independent manner.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC are continuing to help businesses get determinations right. HMRC set up dedicated teams to provide education and support to all businesses, public bodies and charities affected by the off-payroll working reform. This includes topic-based webinars, workshops as well as targeted one-to-one calls with affected businesses.
This is further supported by updated off-payroll working guidance, online learning and attendance at stakeholder events.
HMRC have also outlined how they will support customers to comply with the changes to the off-payroll working rules: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-issue-briefing-supporting-organisations-to-comply-with-changes-to-the-off-payroll-working-rules-ir35.
HMRC developed the Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool to help organisations and individuals determine employment status for tax and decide whether the off-payroll working rules apply.
CEST is a free service which was developed working closely with tax specialists, contractors and other stakeholders. It was tested rigorously against known case law and settled cases, and HMRC stand by its results if the tool is used in accordance with HMRC's guidance.
The Government has also ensured there is a client-led status disagreement process where contractors and deemed employers can lodge a complaint, if they disagree on how a contractor has been categorised.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating its CEST tool used for determining employment status to account for Mutuality of Obligation in the determination of independent contract work.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
‘Mutuality of obligation’ (MoO) is a term often used to describe the basic obligations that exist between a hirer and a worker. These basic obligations are where the hirer is obliged to pay remuneration, of any kind, and the worker is obliged to provide their work or skill in return.
MoO is important because without it there can be no contract for the supply of a worker. CEST does account for MoO on these terms and is clear in guidance to users that it can only be used to determine employment status for tax where there is such a contract in place. CEST then considers this contract, testing the employment status factors, and determines whether the engagement is more likely to be employed or self-employed for Income Tax and National Insurance contributions purposes.
After receiving feedback during user testing, HMRC provided a link to guidance on MoO on CEST’s landing page to make this understanding clearer to users of the tool. The guidance can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-status-manual/esm0543.