Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many section 684 notices were issued by HMRC in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In the context of Disguised Remuneration (DR), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has in some circumstances used the power provided under s.684(7A)(b) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the Discretion) to collect the tax owed; and since 2022, HMRC has issued around 2,700 decisions using the Discretion.
In his independent review, Lord Morse recommended that the Loan Charge should no longer apply to loans made before 9 December 2010. However, Lord Morse said “HMRC should continue being able to settle and investigate cases prior to this point under their normal powers where they have appropriate grounds, and a legal basis, to do so”.
In line with this recommendation, HMRC is still seeking to recover the tax due where it had taken the necessary steps in the past to ensure there is an open tax enquiry or assessment which gives it the legal basis to do so.
In May 2022, the Court of Appeal said that HMRC could consider using the Discretion to collect tax directly from the individual who received income through a DR scheme.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many notices under section 684 of the Income Tax Act 2007 have been issued to individuals with Loan Charge liabilities incurred before December 2010.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In the context of Disguised Remuneration (DR), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has in some circumstances used the power provided under s.684(7A)(b) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the Discretion) to collect the tax owed; and since 2022, HMRC has issued around 2,700 decisions using the Discretion.
In his independent review, Lord Morse recommended that the Loan Charge should no longer apply to loans made before 9 December 2010. However, Lord Morse said “HMRC should continue being able to settle and investigate cases prior to this point under their normal powers where they have appropriate grounds, and a legal basis, to do so”.
In line with this recommendation, HMRC is still seeking to recover the tax due where it had taken the necessary steps in the past to ensure there is an open tax enquiry or assessment which gives it the legal basis to do so.
In May 2022, the Court of Appeal said that HMRC could consider using the Discretion to collect tax directly from the individual who received income through a DR scheme.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC spent on legal fees in tax litigation cases in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Solicitors Office and Legal Services provide a range of legal and professional services to HMRC, including conduct of tax litigation.
The operating expenditure for HMRC’s Solicitors Office and Legal Services is published in HMRC’s annual reports and accounts and can be found for the last five years at
www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts.
For 2022/23 accounts, details can be found on page 246.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for R&D tax credits by companies in Northern Ireland were refused on the grounds they were fraudulent in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the estimated number of R&D claims and a breakdown of the number of claims by region. The latest figures, for 2021-2022, are published here: Research and Development Tax Credit Statistics September 2023.
HMRC do not publish the proportion of R&D claims rejected or the reasons for rejecting them.
All R&D claims go through a risk screening process before the payment process. Where risks are identified, HMRC open enquiries into those claims following the HMRC Enquiry manual, a detailed guidance framework on conducting compliance checks.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what scrutiny is given to technical reports submitted with R&D tax credit applications by companies in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the estimated number of R&D claims and a breakdown of the number of claims by region. The latest figures, for 2021-2022, are published here: Research and Development Tax Credit Statistics September 2023.
HMRC do not publish the proportion of R&D claims rejected or the reasons for rejecting them.
All R&D claims go through a risk screening process before the payment process. Where risks are identified, HMRC open enquiries into those claims following the HMRC Enquiry manual, a detailed guidance framework on conducting compliance checks.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for R&D tax credits by companies in Northern Ireland were refused in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the estimated number of R&D claims and a breakdown of the number of claims by region. The latest figures, for 2021-2022, are published here: Research and Development Tax Credit Statistics September 2023.
HMRC do not publish the proportion of R&D claims rejected or the reasons for rejecting them.
All R&D claims go through a risk screening process before the payment process. Where risks are identified, HMRC open enquiries into those claims following the HMRC Enquiry manual, a detailed guidance framework on conducting compliance checks.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications were made by companies in Northern Ireland for R&D tax credits in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the estimated number of R&D claims and a breakdown of the number of claims by region. The latest figures, for 2021-2022, are published here: Research and Development Tax Credit Statistics September 2023.
HMRC do not publish the proportion of R&D claims rejected or the reasons for rejecting them.
All R&D claims go through a risk screening process before the payment process. Where risks are identified, HMRC open enquiries into those claims following the HMRC Enquiry manual, a detailed guidance framework on conducting compliance checks.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax litigation cases HMRC has taken to the Court of Appeal in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes data relating to decided appeals across all tribunals and courts in its annual report and accounts which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trader support service declarations on access between the Northern Ireland and Great Britain markets for agricultural products.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Windsor Framework will ensure that goods being sold in Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, checks and duties, using only ordinary commercial information rather than customs processes or complex certification requirements for agri-food.
The Trader Support Service (TSS) is free to use and helps businesses with completing declarations without them needing to engage directly with HMRC systems. The TSS will continue to play an important role in helping businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, including facilitating the movement of agricultural products. The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) is also available, which provides additional financial support for traders moving agricultural products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to remove VAT on school-specific uniform items in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Under the current VAT rules, all children’s clothing and footwear designed for young children who are less than 14 years of age, including school uniforms, attract a zero-rate of VAT, meaning that no VAT is charged on the sale of these items.
In addition, certain school uniform items may also benefit from a zero rate of VAT irrespective of size. For instance, garments which bear a prominent logo, crest or badge identifying them as part of the official uniform of schools catering exclusively for children under 14 years of age can be zero-rated.
The UK is one of only two countries among the 37 OECD member countries to maintain a VAT relief for children’s clothing, which costs the Exchequer £2 billion per year.
Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. Whilst we have no current plans to extend the existing zero rate, we nevertheless keep all taxes under review.