Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of air passenger duty on passenger numbers; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the level of such duty.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes which detail the impact of the policy. The TIIN for the 2023/24 APD rates can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-passenger-duty-banding-reforms-with-effect-from-april-2023/air-passenger-duty-apd-banding-reforms-and-rates-from-1-april-2023-to-31-march-2024
As with all taxes, the Government keeps APD under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of new mortgage prisoners since September 2022; and if he will make an estimate of the number of mortgage prisoners for each of the next three years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Information on the number of mortgage prisoners was provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2021. A link to that report is provided below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mortgage-prisoner-review
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent commission to design a road pricing scheme that is (a) equitable and (b) helps raise revenue in the context of trends in the level of fuel duty revenue.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
As set out in a letter to the Transport Select Committee in January 2023, the Government does not have plans to consider road pricing.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rate of VAT applied to electric vehicle charging in domestic settings on the take-up of electric vehicles.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The VAT relief for the supply of domestic fuel and power was not designed for charging electric vehicles (EVs) at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes and the electricity used to charge EVs means that the relief is effectively being applied to EV charging at home.
Although VAT policy has not been designed to incentivise the uptake of EVs, the Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles to help the UK meet its net zero obligations. The Government has already spent over £2 billion to support the transition. With this support, the EV transition is continuing at pace. In 2022, battery electric vehicles made up 16.6 per cent of all new cars sales, up from 11.5 per cent in 2021.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to provide financial support for capital investment in infrastructure projects to make regions more accessible for remote working.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The government is already taking steps to support, including through capital investment, the sort of digital connectivity that facilitates remote working. Project Gigabit is the government’s landmark infrastructure capital programme that has committed £5bn to supporting the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband across the hardest to reach areas of the UK. We’ve made great progress through industry efforts to date, with gigabit coverage now at 74%, up from 18% in March 2020.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing the rate of VAT for public electric vehicle charging in line with the rate of charging at home.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home, attracts the reduced rate of VAT (five per cent). However, electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT (twenty per cent).
The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes, and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV charging at home.
Introducing a VAT relief for public EV charging to match the VAT treatment of domestic fuel and power would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax forecast to raise £157 billion in 2022/23, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS, education and defence.
The Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles to help the UK meet its net zero obligations. The Government has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, which funds targeted vehicle incentives and the rollout of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Loan Charge on (a) staff, (b) administration, (c) legal advice and (d) consultancy costs for businesses since the implementation of that scheme.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The impact of the Loan Charge on businesses was considered as part of the 22 November 2017 Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN).
The TIIN assessed that the Loan Charge would only affect businesses engaging in avoidance schemes and would have no impact on the administrative burdens of compliant businesses undertaking normal commercial transactions.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the tax HMRC believes was avoided through disguised remuneration schemes will be paid by those who (a) recommended, (b) promoted and (c) operated those schemes.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Disguised remuneration (DR) avoidance schemes seek to avoid tax that is due from those that use them, so action to counteract this involves a tax charge on the scheme user, rather than the promoter or enablers of such schemes.
Where the user was employed, HMRC will go to the employer to settle the tax due or collect the Loan Charge in the first instance. Where collection from an employer is not possible, such as when the employer no longer exists or is based offshore, HMRC considers other options to collect the tax due. Approximately 80 per cent of the £3.4 billion HMRC brought into charge through DR settlements between Budget 2016 and the end of March 2022 was from employers.
The Government and HMRC are committed to tackling promoters and enablers of tax avoidance schemes. HMRC can charge enablers of defeated tax avoidance schemes penalties of up to 100 per cent of the fees earned, and legislation included in Finance Acts 2021 and 2022 strengthens and accelerates this power and other measures to tackle promoters and enablers. The First-Tier Tribunal has recently imposed a penalty on a promoter for failing to disclose a scheme under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime in excess of £1 million.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes now subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted for (i) promoting and (ii) operating those schemes.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that was given on 3 November 2021 to the Question UIN 62867: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-10-25/62867.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the loan charge on trends in the level of bankruptcies.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
No estimate can be provided for trends in bankruptcy rates for people that are subject to the loan charge.
Where debts arise, HMRC are not always the only creditor. Some individuals are declared bankrupt as a result of a non-HMRC debt or may choose to enter insolvency proceedings themselves, based on their overall financial position.
HMRC only ever considers insolvency as a last resort. They encourage taxpayers to get in contact with them, with a view to agreeing the best way to settle the tax debts.
To date, HMRC has not initiated insolvency proceedings against any taxpayer for a Loan Charge debt.