Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the application of Capital Gains Tax relief on trees from which private owners of established conifer woodland benefit after the first 10 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Where businesses dispose of assets, they may qualify for capital gains tax relief if the proceeds are reinvested in new business assets (known as Business Asset Rollover Relief). Land used for “short rotation coppice” (i.e. cutting back a tree at intervals of less than 10 years to harvest the stems) is defined by statute as land used for farming activities. Forestry businesses on woodland where trees are felled less frequently may still qualify for this relief, where they can demonstrate that the woodland is managed on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is planning to extend mandation of Making Tax Digital to other taxes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At Spring Statement 2019, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that mandation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) would not be extended to any new taxes or businesses next year.
The Government will formally consult before any decision is taken to proceed with MTD for Corporation Tax, including on how the process will work in practice, with announcement to be considered as part of the fiscal events process, and made in due course.
HMRC will continue to work closely with both software providers and stakeholders representing businesses and agents, so that the MTD service takes full account of the way businesses and their advisers operate.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to publish the planned consultation on the design of Making Tax Digital for corporation tax.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At Spring Statement 2019, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that mandation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) would not be extended to any new taxes or businesses next year.
The Government will formally consult before any decision is taken to proceed with MTD for Corporation Tax, including on how the process will work in practice, with announcement to be considered as part of the fiscal events process, and made in due course.
HMRC will continue to work closely with both software providers and stakeholders representing businesses and agents, so that the MTD service takes full account of the way businesses and their advisers operate.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Making Tax Digital for corporation tax will follow the same model as Making Tax Digital for income tax with a move to quarterly updates.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At Spring Statement 2019, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that mandation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) would not be extended to any new taxes or businesses next year.
The Government will formally consult before any decision is taken to proceed with MTD for Corporation Tax, including on how the process will work in practice, with announcement to be considered as part of the fiscal events process, and made in due course.
HMRC will continue to work closely with both software providers and stakeholders representing businesses and agents, so that the MTD service takes full account of the way businesses and their advisers operate.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans for a further consultation on the process for (a) year-end adjustments and (b) the design of software for (i) making tax digital for income tax and (ii) making tax digital for corporation tax in relation to the working practices of businesses and their (A) accountants, (B) agents and (C) advisers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At Spring Statement 2019, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that mandation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) would not be extended to any new taxes or businesses next year.
The Government will formally consult before any decision is taken to proceed with MTD for Corporation Tax, including on how the process will work in practice, with announcement to be considered as part of the fiscal events process, and made in due course.
HMRC will continue to work closely with both software providers and stakeholders representing businesses and agents, so that the MTD service takes full account of the way businesses and their advisers operate.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has plans to introduce postponed accounting for VAT for importers in the event that the UK leaves the EU with a deal.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Businesses currently benefit from postponed accounting for VAT when importing goods from the EU. The Government recognises the importance of such arrangements to business due to the cash flow advantage they provide. The Government will take this into account when considering potential changes following EU exit.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254832 on Social Security Benefits: Uprating, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of resuming the uprating of social security payments in line with CPI for each of the next five years; and from which budget his Department plans to pay for that uprating.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Twice a year, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produce detailed forecasts for the coming five years, assessing the likely impact of policy decisions and expected developments in the economy. A key component of this is the welfare annually managed expenditure (AME) forecast, which estimates future government expenditure on social security benefits and tax credits.
The current welfare freeze, which was announced in 2015, runs from 2016/17 to 2019/20. As such, the cost of resuming the uprating of frozen benefits from 2020/21 is already accounted for in the welfare forecast – which combines DWP, HMRC and BEIS AME expenditure. The OBR does not routinely disaggregate the cost of uprating within the forecast.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in employment claimed (a) statutory paternity pay and (b) statutory shared parental pay in each year since 2015.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The number of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) claimants in the last five years can be found in the table below:
Tax Year | Number of SPP Claimants | Number of ShPP Claimants |
15/16 | 215,100 | 6,200 |
16/17 | 219,900 | 8,600 |
17/18 | 212,700 | 9,200 |
18/19 | 202,800 | 10,700 |
Notes:
Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in May 2019. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
In the 2015/16 tax year, those receiving Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) for children born before 6 April 2015 cannot be distinguished from those claiming ShPP within RTI data.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it remains his Department’s policy that the four year freeze on the uprating of social security payments will end in April 2020.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As the Chancellor has recently made clear, we have no intention of repeating the current freeze. From April next year, we expect to resume increasing frozen benefits in line with CPI.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases have been referred to the GAAR Advisory Panel since 2015.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Since 2015, 13 cases have been referred to the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) Advisory Panel. GAAR Advisory Panel opinions are published on GOV.UK.