Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the amount of revenue lost through tax avoidance in relation to illegal subletting of homes as short-term lets in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics and details of the estimate methodologies are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK.
The latest estimate of the tax gap arising from ‘moonlighters’ in the hidden economy is £0.9 billion for tax year 2022 to 2023. This figure includes an estimate of around £350 million from individuals in employment who have not paid tax on lettings. The lettings tax gap figure is not separately published due to methodological uncertainties and provides only a broad indicator of the tax gap.
HMRC does not separately estimate the tax gap due to tax avoidance in relation to illegal subletting of homes as short-term lets.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of resourcing for agencies enforcing the UK's sanctions regime.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Resourcing decisions for the next 4 financial years are to be taken at the upcoming Spending Review, with this due for publication in June this year.
At Budget 2024, it was confirmed that the 2025-26 Settlement for HM Treasury ensures that sanctions implementation work will “continue to be supported through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI)”.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Orchestra Tax Relief from 1 April 2024 on the promotion of UK orchestras.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading creative industries and arts sectors.
On 1 April 2024, several administrative changes to Orchestra Tax Relief took effect, following legislation being passed in Finance Act 2024.
In accordance with standard practice, HMRC published a tax information and impact note about the legislation, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industry-tax-reliefs-administrative-changes/administrative-changes-to-the-creative-industry-tax-reliefs
As set out in the note, the administrative changes are expected to have a negligible impact on businesses claiming the creative tax reliefs.