Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2017 to Question 58110, whether his Department has modelled which VED bands the 1.2 million affected VW vehicles would have been placed in had the correct emissions data been available at the time of registration.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The issue with some Volkswagen diesel cars refers to their nitrogen dioxide emissions. Vehicle Excise Duty bands are set according to carbon dioxide emissions, which are not affected by the existence of “defeat devices”.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2016 to Question 13949, if he will publish the Government's analysis on determining any loss of VED revenues following VW Group's use of defeat devices; and whether any of the models among the 1.2 million vehicles affected were subsequently re-banded.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) liability for any particular vehicle is set in accordance with its certificate of conformity at the time of first registration, and consequently consumers are paying VED correctly.
Any revisions to the software used in the affected models are being assessed by the relevant European approval authorities. This comprises a series of checks, including that the CO2 emissions remain the same or better.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with HM Revenue and Customs on the accessibility of the online self-assessment tax returns service.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monitors user feedback and research to make improvements to the Online Self-Assessment service. HMRC regularly updates Treasury Ministers on its performance.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the car industry on the proposals to increase taxation on company car drivers contained in the HM Revenue and Customs consultation on salary sacrifice for the provision of benefits in kind, published on 10 August 2016.
Answered by Jane Ellison
As part of the consultation on salary sacrifice for the provision of benefits-in-kind, officials have engaged with interested parties.
Responses have been received from a wide range of representatives, including those from the car industry. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has also received correspondence from representatives of the car industry expressing views on the consultation.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the process is for the appointment of a new chair for the National Infrastructure Commission.
Answered by Greg Hands
Lord Adonis was appointed to chair the shadow National Infrastructure Commission on an interim basis. The government is bringing forward legislation to create the NIC as an independent body, and will hold an open competition to appoint a permanent Chair, in line with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received about possible revision of the seafarer's earnings deduction incentive.
Answered by David Gauke
The Chancellor has not recently received any specific representations about possible revisions to the seafarer’s earnings deduction.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of his proposals to abolish Class 2 National Insurance contributions on low-earning theatre actors and workers.
Answered by David Gauke
The Chancellor announced at Budget that Class 2 National Insurance contributions will be abolished in April 2018. This will simplify the outdated and complex self-employed National Insurance system, giving self-employed NICs payers an annual tax cut of £134 on average. This will benefit 3.4 million self-employed people – including those who work in the theatre.