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  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the report by the Office for Tax Simplification’s, The closer alignment of income tax and national insurance, published in March 2016.

    Mr David Gauke

    Budget 2016 announced that the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will review the impacts of moving employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to an annual, cumulative and aggregated basis and moving employer NICs to a payroll basis. After this review, the Government will respond in full to the OTS’s review of the closer alignment of income tax and NICs.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.

    The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce tax avoidance and tax crime in the UK’s overseas territories and Crown dependencies.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK initiated the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project under our G8 Presidency in 2013 to stop multinational enterprises exploiting gaps and mismatches between countries’ tax rules. We were one of the first countries to adopt the recommendations from the project.

    We also called on the OECD to develop a framework for Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities. We’ve implemented the OECD framework and have pushed to go further, with the Chancellor calling for public CbC reporting in the EU and G20. The Commission’s recent proposals are a step in the right direction, and we will give full consideration to them.

    In addition, as a result of our G8 Presidency in 2013, more than 90 countries have agreed to automatically exchange taxpayer financial account information under the Common Reporting Standards, and create company beneficial ownership registers. Under pressure from the UK Government, the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have signed up to these new standards.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making country-by-country reporting of UK-listed company profits publicly available.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated the international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for this as part of the BEPS project.

    The UK was the first to commit to implementing the OECD model with legislation in Finance Act 2015. The Government believes that there is scope for greater transparency by pressing the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. As the Chancellor has said, this is something that the UK will seek to promote internationally.

    The European Commission has now proposed amendments to the Accounting Directive for public CbC reporting, and we believe these proposals are a step in the right direction towards new international rules for greater public transparency

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the effect of tax avoidance and evasion on developing countries as part of his preparations for the forthcoming UK Anti-Corruption Summit.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury ministers are in regular dialogue with cabinet Colleagues on a range of issues.

    The UK has been at the forefront of the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project to tackle tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation. A dedicated work stream was set up to target the issues which developing countries identified as their highest priorities, including unnecessary tax incentives and tools to undertake BEPS-risks assessments.

    The BEPS project was completed on 5 October 2015, and the focus is now on implementing the internationally agreed proposals. The UK is chairing a group of over 90 countries who are working together in 2016 to develop the Multilateral Instrument, which will simultaneously update the global network of over 3000 bilateral treaties to implement some of the changes resulting from the BEPS project. The group includes emerging economies and developing countries as well as OECD members. The vice-chairs of the group of representatives from China, Morocco and the Philippines, highlighting the importance of the multilateral instrument to developing countries and their central involvement in its design.

    As a result of our G8 Presidency, more than 90 countries have agreed to automatically exchange taxpayer financial account information. These global agreements will provide a step change in the ability of countries to tackle tax evasion as participating countries will be automatically sending and receiving information about the offshore financial accounts of taxpayers.

    All countries will be able to benefit from these changes to the international tax system, but some will require additional support if they are to do so. International organisations are therefore producing practical toolkits to help developing countries implement BEPS standards and the Government is funding international organisations to assist developing countries in obtaining technical assistance on issues such as transfer pricing. The Government funds the Global Forum and World Bank to support developing countries in implementing exchange of information systems and last year the Government announced a partnership with the Ghana revenue authority to pilot the new standard on automatic exchange of information. The Government also funds tax capacity building in the vast majority of its priority developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally, as well as through peer-to-peer technical assistance from HMRC.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to recommendations 12 and 22 of the Financial Action Taskforce guidance, entitled Potentially Exposed Persons, what steps the Government has taken to provide guidance to financial institutions and Designated Non-financial Businesses and Professions on what constitutes a prominent public function for domestic and foreign politically exposed persons; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In line with the Financial Action Task Force’s international standards, the Government believes that institutions should take reasonable measures to determine whether an individual qualifies as a Politically Exposed Person. The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 set out a non-exhaustive list of individuals who could be politically exposed. The FCA and the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group have published further guidance to assist the industry in identifying and banking Politically Exposed Persons.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide dedicated funding to HM Revenue and Customs for the investigation and tackling of tax evasion and avoidance through the use of offshore companies, in light of the leaked documents relating to the operations of Mossack Fonseca.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has introduced tough new powers and game-changing measures to tackle offshore and onshore tax evasion, and as recently as the summer Budget 2015 gave HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an additional £800 million to invest in expanding compliance and tax evasion work. This is expected to recover £7.2 billion in tax over the next five years.

    The Government is introducing a criminal sanction for corporates facilitating tax evasion, and launching a taskforce, jointly led by HMRC and the National Crime Agency (NCA). Drawing on investigators, compliance specialists and analysts from HMRC, NCA, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), its purpose will be to swiftly obtain and analyse the Mossack Fonseca papers and take rapid action where there is evidence of wrongdoing. The taskforce will look beyond tax into all potential areas of financial crime and other regulatory breaches.

    The taskforce will provide a progress report to the Chancellor and Home Secretary later this year. The report will set out the their initial assessment of the information in the Panama papers and proposed actions for further analysis and strategy for pursuing any evidence found of wrongdoing and regulatory breaches.

    Additional resourcing of £10m will ensure that the taskforce’s work can be done on top of departmental commitments. Where resource is moved into the task force, existing roles will be back filled as soon as possible.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the leaked documents relating to the operations of Mossack Fonseca for HM Revenue and Custom’s policy on investigating and tackling tax evasion and avoidance using offshore vehicles.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has introduced tough new powers and game-changing measures to tackle offshore and onshore tax evasion, and as recently as the summer Budget 2015 gave HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an additional £800 million to invest in expanding compliance and tax evasion work. This is expected to recover £7.2 billion in tax over the next five years.

    The Government is introducing a criminal sanction for corporates facilitating tax evasion, and launching a taskforce, jointly led by HMRC and the National Crime Agency (NCA). Drawing on investigators, compliance specialists and analysts from HMRC, NCA, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), its purpose will be to swiftly obtain and analyse the Mossack Fonseca papers and take rapid action where there is evidence of wrongdoing. The taskforce will look beyond tax into all potential areas of financial crime and other regulatory breaches.

    The taskforce will provide a progress report to the Chancellor and Home Secretary later this year. The report will set out the their initial assessment of the information in the Panama papers and proposed actions for further analysis and strategy for pursuing any evidence found of wrongdoing and regulatory breaches.

    Additional resourcing of £10m will ensure that the taskforce’s work can be done on top of departmental commitments. Where resource is moved into the task force, existing roles will be back filled as soon as possible.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs plans to drop proposals currently under consultation to increase VAT on solar in response to the EU VAT action plan published on 7 April 2016.

    Mr David Gauke

    The reduced VAT rate for solar products remains unchanged and in place.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to allow the exchange of tax information of UK-listed companies with developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.

    The UK has published regulations on 26 February 2016 implementing the OECD CbC reporting framework.

    We have also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement which allows from the automatic exchange of the OECD CbC reports between relevant tax authorities. All countries are free to enter into international agreements so that they can exchange reports under the Multilateral Convention, bilateral double tax conventions or tax information exchange agreements.