The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the proportion of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses with an annual turnover under (a) £150,000 and (b) £250,000.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs does not routinely publish estimates of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the level of existing VAT thresholds for small businesses.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has chosen to maintain a high VAT registration threshold, and it is currently the highest in the EU (at £82,000 from 1 April 2015). We believe that the UK’s current registration threshold achieves a reasonable balance between competing interests and reduces the administrative burden on the smallest businesses.
The Government may not increase this threshold further, aside from maintaining its value in line with inflation, without the consent of the European Commission and the unanimous agreement of all EU Member States.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority in dealing with complaints relating to the misselling of interest rate swaps.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.
It might be useful to know that the Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm.
As you are aware, the FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the FCA. In particular, the Treasury has no general power of direction over the FCA and cannot intervene in individual cases.
The independence of the FCA is vital to the role it provides as a safety net for consumers with complaints against financial services firms. Their credibility, authority and value to consumers would be undermined if it were possible for the Government to intervene in their decision-making.
The FCA regularly publishes information on the progress of the redress scheme. This can be found here: www.fca.org.uk/consumers/financial-services-products/banking/interest-rate-hedging-products.
You may be aware that the Treasury Select Committee’s report into SME lending, published on 10 March, recommended that the FCA collect the information necessary to establish whether there are systemic failures in the redress scheme. The FCA has responded and the Committee, which published this response on 12 October 2015. It can be found here: www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/treasury/Responses/Financial-Conduct-Authority-response-to-Conduct-and-Competition-in-SME.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the misselling of interest rate swaps.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.
It might be useful to know that the Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm.
As you are aware, the FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the FCA. In particular, the Treasury has no general power of direction over the FCA and cannot intervene in individual cases.
The independence of the FCA is vital to the role it provides as a safety net for consumers with complaints against financial services firms. Their credibility, authority and value to consumers would be undermined if it were possible for the Government to intervene in their decision-making.
The FCA regularly publishes information on the progress of the redress scheme. This can be found here: www.fca.org.uk/consumers/financial-services-products/banking/interest-rate-hedging-products.
You may be aware that the Treasury Select Committee’s report into SME lending, published on 10 March, recommended that the FCA collect the information necessary to establish whether there are systemic failures in the redress scheme. The FCA has responded and the Committee, which published this response on 12 October 2015. It can be found here: www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/treasury/Responses/Financial-Conduct-Authority-response-to-Conduct-and-Competition-in-SME.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Guto Bebb on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on SMEs of a move from the flat rate scheme for VAT to the general rate.
Mr David Gauke
HMRC estimates that, on average, businesses moving from the flat rate scheme to standard VAT accounting incur extra administrative costs of £45 per year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Guto Bebb on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential benefits of increasing the turnover threshold at which it becomes necessary to adopt the general rate for VAT for the tourism industry.
Mr David Gauke
No such assessment has been made. The Government has chosen to maintain the highest VAT registration threshold in the EU. EU law allows us to increase the threshold in line with inflation, and it has therefore increased to £82,000 with effect from 1 April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs will send a notification letter to Scottish taxpayers to inform them of the introduction of the new Scottish rate of income tax.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs plans to send a notification letter to Scottish taxpayers in December of this year, informing them of the introduction of the new Scottish Rate of Income Tax. As the Scottish Government is yet to set a date for the announcement of its intended rate, it is not possible to state whether the letters will be sent before or after the rate has been announced.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will send detailed information to employers and payroll agents affected by the introduction of the new Scottish rate of income tax to enable them to implement systems and deal with enquiries.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have been liaising with employers and payroll software developers for the last eighteen months to raise their awareness of the Scottish Rate of Income Tax. This has been undertaken through numerous workshops, presentations and publications.HMRC have already published:
In addition, test services for the 2016/17 tax year went live on 8 October 2015, enabling payroll developers to submit their test files to HMRC.
HMRC have also included details of the Scottish Rate in their Employer Bulletin publication, which will assist employers in dealing with queries from their employees, and published guidance on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the effect of the new Scottish rate of income tax on remote and mobile workers who are Scottish taxpayers.
Mr David Gauke
People will pay the Scottish Rate of Income Tax if their main place of residence is in Scotland for most of the year. For the vast majority of taxpayers, even those who work remotely or on a mobile basis, this will be a straight forward test of the location of the home they return to when work has finished. HM Revenue and Customs will publish detailed guidance to help people understand how the rules apply to them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs intends to send out a notification letter to Scottish taxpayers to inform them of the introduction of the new Scottish rate of income tax prior to or after the rate being set by the Scottish Government.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs plans to send a notification letter to Scottish taxpayers in December of this year, informing them of the introduction of the new Scottish Rate of Income Tax. As the Scottish Government is yet to set a date for the announcement of its intended rate, it is not possible to state whether the letters will be sent before or after the rate has been announced.