Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of HMRC's approach to preventing (a) VAT and (b) duty evasion in the off-road motorcycle industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC collected a record £858.9 billion in taxes in 2024/25, an increase of 3.7% from the year before, which included £171.0 billion in VAT. HMRC has a strong track record in tackling all kinds of non-compliance. HMRC takes a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to enforcement and is continuously developing its capabilities to target and tackle all types of non-compliance. Assessments of the effectiveness of HMRC’s approach to prevent VAT and duty evasion are not available at that level of granularity.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) VAT and (b) customs duty lost as a result of (i) undervaluation and (ii) misclassification of (A) imported off-road motorcycles and (B) related parts in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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 2025 edition: tax gap estimates for 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Estimates of the revenues lost from (i) undervaluation and (ii) misclassification of (A) imported off-road motorcycles and (B) related parts in each of the last five years are not available as the methodologies used in assessing the tax gap do not allow estimates to be made at such a granular level.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on the Loan Charge Review.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The independent review of the Loan Charge is ongoing and will report in the summer. The Government will respond to the review by Autumn Budget 2025.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she considered including the (a) role and (b) conduct of HMRC within the remit of the Independent Review of the Loan Charge.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential role of chartered accountants in the use of disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and is consulting on a package of measures, including potential new criminal sanctions, to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations.
The Government also announced action at 2024 Autumn Budget to tackle tax avoidance by umbrella companies. Legislation, effective from April 2026, will be introduced to make recruitment agencies using umbrella companies legally responsible for accounting for PAYE on workers’ pay. Where there is no agency in the supply chain, this responsibility will fall to the end client. This along with the measures on promoters will help prevent disguised remuneration in the future.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential role of recruitment companies in the use of disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and is consulting on a package of measures, including potential new criminal sanctions, to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations.
The Government also announced action at 2024 Autumn Budget to tackle tax avoidance by umbrella companies. Legislation, effective from April 2026, will be introduced to make recruitment agencies using umbrella companies legally responsible for accounting for PAYE on workers’ pay. Where there is no agency in the supply chain, this responsibility will fall to the end client. This along with the measures on promoters will help prevent disguised remuneration in the future.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason people who have settled have been excluded from the review into Loan Charge settlements.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government believes the review must bring the Loan Charge to a close for those people who still owe substantial amounts of money but can see no way to resolve their debts
The Government is committed to tackling promoters of tax avoidance and is currently consulting on a package of measures, powers and sanctions to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations. Further options are under consultation targeting those tax advisors and legal professionals behind avoidance schemes.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason she has ruled out scheme promoters paying a proportion of Loan Charge liabilities.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government believes the review must bring the Loan Charge to a close for those people who still owe substantial amounts of money but can see no way to resolve their debts
The Government is committed to tackling promoters of tax avoidance and is currently consulting on a package of measures, powers and sanctions to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations. Further options are under consultation targeting those tax advisors and legal professionals behind avoidance schemes.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the (a) marketing and (b) operation of disguised remuneration schemes a criminal offence.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not, in or of itself, a criminal offence, unless the promoter is acting in breach of an HM Revenue and Customs Stop Notice.
The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and is consulting on a package of measures, including potential new criminal powers, to facilitate swifter and stronger action against those who own or control promoter organisations.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a review into the adequacy of the system of (a) oversight and (b) accountability of HMRC.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I have overall ministerial responsibility for HMRC and have chaired its Board since September 2024. HMRC is headed by a body of Commissioners, appointed by the Crown, who are required to publish a Charter of Standards of behaviours and values for how they will deal with taxpayers and report on performance against these standards annually. Taxpayers can challenge HMRC’s decisions in the specialist tax tribunal or through the civil courts. Senior HMRC officials are also accountable to parliament and regularly give evidence to the Treasury and Public Accounts committees.
I have set priorities for HMRC to close the tax gap, improve day to day performance and the overall customer experience, and reform and modernise the UK tax and customs system. These are hardwired into the Department’s business plan, and we will be setting out more detail about how we will transform to deliver these priorities in a Transformation Roadmap.