The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Leigh on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what further plans the Government has to devolve tax powers to Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The Government remains committed to devolving corporation tax rate setting powers subject to the Executive delivering sustainable finances, as set out in the Stormont House Agreement.
We also recognise the potential for further fiscal powers going to the Executive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulation of banking sector.
Harriett Baldwin
Since 2010 the government has:
legislated for the ring-fencing of large banks’ retail arms from their investment banking arms;
ensured that the senior managers of banks are held accountable for their decisions; and
put the Bank of England back in charge of bank prudential regulation.
The IMF noted in its recent Article IV concluding statement that “owing to a large extent to a wave of welcome regulatory reforms since the crisis, the main parts of the UK financial system appear resilient”.
The Government agrees with the IMF’s assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of corporation tax receipts from the digital economy sector in 2015-16.
Mr David Gauke
We cannot make an estimate of the corporation tax receipts from the digital economy.
During the international work on corporate tax avoidance in the digital economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreed that the digital economy cannot be ringfenced for tax purposes. This is because it is becoming impossible to say what is and is not part of the digital economy, due to digital aspects permeating the economy as a whole.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce the gender pay gap in the financial services sector.
Harriett Baldwin
The gender pay gap is at a record low. New regulations require all firms with over 250 employees to publish their gender pay gaps. These regulations will increase transparency and accelerate progress, especially in sectors with large gender pay gaps such as financial services.
In March, the government launched the Women in Finance Charter which asks financial services firms to implement recommendations from Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s review into the representation of senior women in financial services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to HM Revenue and Customs on the use of powers in the Finance Act 2014 to issue accelerated payment notices for seeking retrospective tax payments.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has the power to seek upfront payment of disputed tax in certain avoidance cases.
The legislation is not retrospective. It does not create any new tax liability; it simply alters where the tax sits while the liability is being disputed.
The taxpayer can continue to dispute the case and will be repaid with interest should they win.
At 31 March 2016 HMRC had issued over 46,000 accelerated payments notices, representing over £4.8bn of tax in dispute; and over £2.5bn had been received.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase exports.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer given in response to the member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun question on 7 June in Oral questions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve tax transparency.
Mr David Gauke
I refer the Hon Member to the my earlier response to question 14 during Oral Questions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that disabled people are not disproportionately affected by reductions in government expenditure.
Damian Hinds
The Government has protected the value of disability benefits, exempting these payments from the uprating freeze and exempting those in receipt of them from the benefit cap.
Disability spending will be higher in every year to 2020 relative to both 2010 and to today.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the effect of the Government’s steps to tackle aggressive tax avoidance on the revenues derived from general taxation.
Mr David Gauke
During this Parliament, we have already announced that we will legislate for more than 25 measures to tackle avoidance and evasion, which are forecast to raise £16 billion by 2021.
During the last Parliament, we made over 40 changes to tax law, closing down loopholes and introducing major reforms to the UK tax system. These were forecast to have raised £12 billion by 2016.
During the last Parliament, as a result of actions to tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance, aggressive tax planning and non-compliance, HM Revenue and Customs secured around £100 billion in additional compliance revenue. This includes over £38 billion from big businesses and £1.2 billion extra from the UK’s richest people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Philp on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of personal injury whiplash claims.
Harriett Baldwin
Between 1 April 2013 and 6 April 2015 the coalition government implemented a substantial programme of reform to reduce and control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.
Despite that progress, the present government remains concerned about the number and cost of whiplash claims, which is why further reforms were announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2015. These new reforms will remove the right to compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity from minor whiplash injuries, and reduce legal costs by raising the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. The government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course, with a view to implementing them as soon as the necessary legislation is in place.