Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What steps he plans to take in response to the publication of the Pandora Papers to tackle (a) tax avoidance, (b) money laundering and (c) other financial crimes.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This government is committed to making the UK a hostile place for illicit finance and economic crime. We are determined to crack down on dirty money and financial exploitation, to protect our security and prosperity. We have taken action through our ‘No Safe Havens’ strategy to ensure the correct UK tax is paid; and our landmark 2019 Economic Crime Plan outlines a comprehensive response to ensure the UK cannot be abused for economic crime.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department does not hold complaints in respect of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme centrally.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HM Treasury operates a complaints procedure to review and respond to expressions of dissatisfaction with the services provided by the department. The complaints procedure is available on GOV.UK.
Separate procedures exist for questions or complaints about Government policy. If someone submitted an issue under the Treasury’s complaints procedure that concerned Government policy, the complaints team would pass this issue on to the relevant policy team.
While the Treasury records a total figure for the amount of correspondence received regarding the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), this represents a wide range of suggestions, thoughts and concerns. It would not be reasonable for the Treasury to determine whether each individual piece of correspondence could informally constitute a “complaint” about the SEISS. Given this, this information is not recorded centrally.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints (a) his Department and (b) HMRC received from self-employed people who were unable to access the self-employment income support scheme; and whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment for that scheme on people with protected characteristics.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The information requested in point (a) is not held centrally by HM Treasury, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
On point (b), the Customer Services Group at HMRC received 7,253 complaints about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Of this number, 89 per cent were not fully upheld. Approximately 82 per cent of the total complaints were in relation to eligibility for the SEISS.
The Government takes equality considerations seriously and has been careful to give due regard to its Public Sector Equality Duties throughout its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In designing and refining the SEISS scheme, the Treasury undertook an analysis of how this may affect individuals with protected characteristics, in line with its Public Sector Equality Duty, and to ensure that equalities considerations inform the decisions taken by ministers.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2020 to Question 52599 on Directors: Pay, how many of those directors reported as directors of a close company in the (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,000-20,000, (c) £20,000-30,000, (d) £30,000-40,000 and (e) £40,000-50,000 bands of income reported in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Individuals can report that they are a director, and whether this directorship is of a Close Company, to HMRC on their Self-Assessment return.
The estimates are based on HMRC administrative data for the 2018/19 tax year. The data will not account for some late filing, those who have chosen not to report this information on the form, nor those who do not need to complete Self-Assessment returns.
Estimates of the number of directors of close companies and their income is set out in the table below. These numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000 for individuals and the nearest £10 million for total dividends.
Total Income Reported |
|
|
|
Less than £10k | 100,000 | £50m | £0 |
£10-20k | 220,000 | £1.07bn | £2,000 |
£20-30k | 180,000 | £2.55bn | £10,750 |
£30-40k | 160,000 | £3.78bn | £20,000 |
£40-50k | 220,000 | £8.01bn | £31,000 |
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2020 to Question 52599, what (a) total and (b) median dividend income was reported by directors who reported total income of (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,000-20,000, (c) £20,000-30,000, (d) £30,000-40,000 and (e) £40,000-50,000 in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Individuals can report that they are a director, and whether this directorship is of a Close Company, to HMRC on their Self-Assessment return.
The estimates are based on HMRC administrative data for the 2018/19 tax year. The data will not account for some late filing, those who have chosen not to report this information on the form, nor those who do not need to complete Self-Assessment returns.
Estimates of the number of directors of close companies and their income is set out in the table below. These numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000 for individuals and the nearest £10 million for total dividends.
Total Income Reported |
|
|
|
Less than £10k | 100,000 | £50m | £0 |
£10-20k | 220,000 | £1.07bn | £2,000 |
£20-30k | 180,000 | £2.55bn | £10,750 |
£30-40k | 160,000 | £3.78bn | £20,000 |
£40-50k | 220,000 | £8.01bn | £31,000 |
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK residents claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years can be found in Table 1 of ‘Statistics on Non-domiciled Taxpayers in the UK,’ available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk.
COVID-19 measures and guidance related to the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) have been estimated to have a negligible cost to the exchequer. This is because they will in most cases preserve what an individual's tax residence determination would be in the absence of COVID-19. Individuals who utilise these changes in 2020-21 will, where necessary, be required to declare this in their Self-Assessment returns which are due in January 2022.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of the forfeiture of tax revenue as a result of non-domiciled residents remaining in the UK after the 60-day covid-19 extension period.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years can be found in Table 1 of ‘Statistics on Non-domiciled Taxpayers in the UK,’ available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk.
COVID-19 measures and guidance related to the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) have been estimated to have a negligible cost to the exchequer. This is because they will in most cases preserve what an individual's tax residence determination would be in the absence of COVID-19. Individuals who utilise these changes in 2020-21 will, where necessary, be required to declare this in their Self-Assessment returns which are due in January 2022.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average annual income of non-domiciled residents in the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years can be found in Table 1 of ‘Statistics on Non-domiciled Taxpayers in the UK,’ available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk.
COVID-19 measures and guidance related to the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) have been estimated to have a negligible cost to the exchequer. This is because they will in most cases preserve what an individual's tax residence determination would be in the absence of COVID-19. Individuals who utilise these changes in 2020-21 will, where necessary, be required to declare this in their Self-Assessment returns which are due in January 2022.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of the forfeiture of tax revenue from non-domiciled residents that remained in the UK for the 60-day covid-19 extension period, who are exempt from paying the higher tax rate as a result of exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years can be found in Table 1 of ‘Statistics on Non-domiciled Taxpayers in the UK,’ available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk.
COVID-19 measures and guidance related to the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) have been estimated to have a negligible cost to the exchequer. This is because they will in most cases preserve what an individual's tax residence determination would be in the absence of COVID-19. Individuals who utilise these changes in 2020-21 will, where necessary, be required to declare this in their Self-Assessment returns which are due in January 2022.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether self-assessment tax return forms that were amended between the period 26 March 2020 to 20 April 2020 will be accepted in consideration for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS); and whether discretion will be used to ensure that people who made amendments to their self-assessment forms due to genuine error will receive the appropriate support from SEISS.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is designed to be delivered quickly and so is based on information HMRC already hold. This also provides some protection against fraud and abuse.
The SEISS is governed by a Direction issued by the Treasury. That Direction clearly sets out the parameters of the scheme, including the eligibility and payment calculation rules. The 2018-19 return must have been filed by 23 April 2020, and no amendments made after 6pm on 26 March will be taken into account. The SEISS makes no provision to accept later returns or amendments, for example on reasonable excuse or error grounds. If claimants feel HMRC have got their eligibility decision wrong they may ask for a review, following the process set out on GOV.UK.