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1313036

registered interest
date	11/05/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC did not reject tax returns where loan charge schemes were listed in the most recent period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	South Northamptonshire
tabling member printed	Andrea Leadsom
uin	229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>HMRC cannot reject Self-Assessment tax returns on the basis of information contained within the returns, including information relating to the Loan Charge or disguised remuneration schemes. Self-Assessment is a process now, check later regime. A Self-Assessment tax return would only be rejected if it fails to satisfy the filing requirements to constitute a statutory return. The Self-Assessment regime also gives HMRC the powers to open an enquiry into a return up to the end of a period of 12 months if the return was filed on or before the statutory filing date.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have also recently provided guidance on GOV.UK for taxpayers following the outcome of the independent Loan Charge Review which includes information for those taxpayers who have filed or are yet to file their 2018-19 Self-Assessment tax return: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-independent-loan-charge-review/guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-independent-loan-charge-review/guidance</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 17/05/2021 12:09:51 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom

1281319

registered interest
date	27/01/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-assessment: Proof of Identity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC do not accept Commonwealth, EU or other overseas passports as proof of identification for people completing their self-assessment tax returns online.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North West
tabling member printed	Taiwo Owatemi
uin	144855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2021 answer text HMRC do not have access to other countries’ passport databases so they are unable to check the validity of overseas passports in the same way as they can with UK passports. answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 04/02/2021 16:50:51 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4779 label Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi

1190754

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Remote Working
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC is not rolling out telephony homeworking first to employees already working from home; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	40674
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2020 answer text <p>HMRC’s frontline teams of key workers are doing a very important job to support the UK; protecting people’s livelihoods, keeping cash in businesses, helping people to stay employed and supporting families.</p><p> </p><p>The safety of their staff is HMRC’s top priority. Staff who do not need to be in the office are working from home, and HMRC are following public health advice to keep their offices safe where services cannot be delivered from home.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC took steps quickly to enable as many colleagues as possible to work from home at this time, expanding their remote working network, moving work around, and training hundreds of their customer advisers on webchat, which can be worked on from home. This means that about 75% of HMRC’s people are working at home.</p><p> </p><p>Working telephony at home has been largely untested and presents potential risks that need to be managed carefully. In March, HMRC started a small-scale trial to look at this, and to understand in detail aspects like the experience and wellbeing of colleagues doing it, the customer experience, how secure and suitable home environments are for this type of work, and what extra equipment and network capacity would be needed.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s original plan was to evaluate their initial small-scale trial of home telephony before looking at next steps. However, as HMRC prepared for a large surge in customer calls for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), HMRC decided that there was an opportunity to push the home telephony trial further and faster than planned. HMRC have now expanded the home telephony testing to about 7,000 colleagues, supporting CJRS and some of their business as usual lines.</p><p> </p><p>The findings from this trial will help HMRC to understand how far they can increase the number of roles that can be done from home at any one time.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC remain focused on and committed to keeping their people safe, whether in an office or at home, while also protecting their vital services to taxpayers.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 04/05/2020 15:38:59 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1282896

registered interest
date	02/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC is unable to accept RTI reports submitted by businesses in November and December 2020 to secure Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments for new employees who took up their roles after 30 October 2020 and before the national lockdown was announced on 4 January 2021.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	147926
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2021 answer text <p>When the Government announced the extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), it prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible. The scheme has enabled millions of people to remain employed.</p><p> </p><p>The Government chose 30 October because this date is the day before the extension to the CJRS was announced. Extending the cut-off date beyond 30 October would have meant including employments notified to HMRC after the date that the Government announced the extension to the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Employers can claim for employees on payroll on 30 October 2020 providing the employer made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. This allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement and balances the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the extension to the scheme became public.</p><p> </p><p>Extending the cut-off date beyond 30 October 2020 would significantly increase the risk of abuse because claims could not be confidently verified using the known RTI employment data after this point.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 08/02/2021 12:10:31 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1254839

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services: Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Limited (RCDTS Ltd) engaged contractors using disguised remuneration schemes until 2020.
tabling member constituency	Watford
tabling member printed	Dean Russell
uin	120157
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Limited (RCDTS) has never participated in disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes, for example by remunerating contractors through loans or payments to trusts. Since RCDTS engages contractors via agencies or via companies providing services, it is possible for contractors to use disguised remuneration without the participation or knowledge of RCDTS.</p><p> </p><p>Any RCDTS contractor identified in the course of HM Revenue and Customs’ compliance work as using a disguised remuneration scheme would be investigated in the same way as any other contractor. Where the use of disguised remuneration is found to be current, the relevant engagement is terminated with immediate effect.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 02/12/2020 15:42:29 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4812 label Biography information for Dean Russell

1343133

registered interest
date	01/07/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Screening
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason VAT is payable on PCR tests; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Charlotte Nichols
uin	25972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2021 answer text <p>VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent normally applies to most goods and services, including PCR tests. Medical testing, where it is administered by registered health professionals, is exempt from VAT. The Government also continues to offer free COVID-19 testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms.</p><p> </p><p>Testing individuals after they arrive in the UK is an important tool to help the Government protect the public from the risk posed by imported cases of COVID-19 and to identify variants of concern. The Government recognises that the cost of PCR tests can be high, which is why it is working with the travel industry and private testing providers to see how costs can be reduced while ensuring that travel remains as safe as possible.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/07/2021 12:44:22 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4799 label Biography information for Charlotte Nichols

1221614

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Screening
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason a covid-19 test provided by an employer to an employee as part of their work will be treated by HMRC as a benefit in kind and will therefore be taxable; and whether that treatment will apply to tests provided by employers in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	70477
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government is introducing an income tax exemption and National Insurance (NICs) disregard to ensure that coronavirus antigen testing provided by an employer to employees outside the Government’s national testing scheme will not attract tax and NICs liabilities. The new exemption will apply across the United Kingdom for the current tax year 2020-21.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 13/07/2020 10:37:58 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1192674

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bureaux de Change: Business Rates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason bureaux de change businesses have been excluded from business rates relief.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	43113
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Although financial services providers are not eligible for business rates relief, a range of further measures to support all businesses, including bureaux de change, has also been made available. These include the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank, and the deferral of VAT payments for this quarter.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to support businesses during this period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 43112 question first answered 13/05/2020 09:08:08 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1233499

registered interest
date	10/09/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Food: Wholesale Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason business rate relief has not been made available to food and wholesale businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	88384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties. As set out in the guidance, support is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the Government.</p><p> </p><p>A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday such as wholesalers, has also been made available.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 15/09/2020 13:09:47 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1247725

registered interest
date	02/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Directors: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason financial assistance was not offered to limited company directors during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	110123
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government has not taken a principled stance against support for company owner-managers who pay themselves via dividends. Income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages. Under current reporting mechanisms it is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, and between dividends in lieu of employment income and as returns from other corporate activity.</p><p> </p><p>This means, unlike announced support schemes which use information HMRC already hold, targeting additional support would require owner-managers to make a claim and submit information that HMRC could not efficiently or consistently verify to ensure payments were made to eligible companies for eligible activity.  This is about identifying what is operationally feasible, managing technical complexities and fraud risks, and ensuring that other forms of support the Government has already committed to are delivered in a timely way.</p><p> </p><p>The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of support for individuals and businesses. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 05/11/2020 16:11:57 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson