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Inheritance Tax Exemption
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent local authorities are consulted prior to agreements being made to grant conditional exemption from inheritance tax on condition that reasonable public access is allowed over the site; if local authorities are required to consult interested parties over the proposals; and what restrictions are imposed upon local authorities preventing them from disclosing information on the proposals. [1626]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 5 November 1996]: In considering claims for conditional exemption for land, the Inland Revenue seeks advice from the Government's heritage advisory agencies--for example, the Countryside Commission for scenic land in England. As well as considering the eligibility of the land, the advisory agencies discuss and negotiate with owners the steps needed to meet the undertakings required by the law about the maintenance and preservation of the land, and securing public access to it. As part of this process, the agencies consult local authorities and other interested parties as appropriate. In many cases the local authority is offered an agency agreement to monitor the owner's compliance with the undertakings.
When an advisory agency consults a local authority or other body, the normal rules on taxpayer confidentiality apply, and any information given in connection with a claim or designation for conditional exemption is therefore confidential.
Home Income Plans (Tax Relief)
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many non-taxpayers are in receipt of tax relief for home income plans; and if he will indicate the distribution of tax relief paid out for home income plans by income group. [3320]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 11 November 1996]: I regret that reliable information is not available.
Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has of the revenue which would be raised by restricting mortgage interest tax relief at source, for new mortgage payers only, to (a) 10 per cent. in 1997-98, (b) 5 per cent. in 1998-99 and (c) 0 per cent. in 1999-2000. [3405]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 11 November 1996]: The revenue yield in 1997-98 and future years would depend on future interest rates and the future distribution of the number and value of new mortgages.
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Uncollected Tax
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of uncollected (a) income tax, (b) corporation tax, (c) value added tax and (d) other taxes in (i) 1991-92, (ii) 1994-95 and (iii) 1995-96; and if he will make a statement. [3385]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 11 November 1996]: The information is given in the following table. In this question, "uncollected" has been taken to mean "uncollected and subsequently written off or remitted".
| Type of tax | October 1991 | October 1994 | October 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax | 524 | 853 | 593 |
| Corporation tax | 321 | 262 | 127 |
| Other taxes | 39 | 44 | 36 |
| Value added tax | 515 | 550 | 484 |
| Customs and other duties | 0.7 | 1.7 | 5.9 |
The boards of Inland Revenue and of Customs and Excise allow remissions of tax on a case-by-case basis as an aspect of their responsibilities for the care and management of the various taxes.
Sound management requires that tax which is not collected and which cannot practicably be collected--for example, because the taxpayer is insolvent or his whereabouts are unknown--should be written off.
Insolvencies, where the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise have very little control over the amount recoverable, account for the vast majority of tax written off.
Mr. Alison:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of allowing married couples to choose joint income tax assessment on the assumption (a) that each would retain their personal allowance, (b) that the 20 per cent. and 24 per cent. rate bands were doubled and (c) that the married couples allowance was not given. [2823]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 12 November 1996]: The estimated full-year cost at 1996-97 income levels of allowing married couples to choose whether they are taxed under the current system of independent taxation or taxed under the proposed joint taxation regime is about £5 billion.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will amend the building societies legislation in order to safeguard the interests of disabled people whose accounts are held by trustees in the context of bonus payments given by building societies at the time of flotation. [2744]
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 229
Mr. Tom Clarke:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to ensure that investors, with severe disabilities, whose account is managed by a third party, will benefit from payments consequent upon building societies converting to banks. [2699]
Mr. Angela Knight
[holding answers 7 November 1996]: The existing law allows building societies to take account of the interests of underlying beneficiaries, including disabled investors and others in this position, but the final structure of any distribution is a matter for the society concerned, and it is for its members to decide whether they agree that distribution. I understand that the Building Societies Association has issued guidance to its members on future account opening and handling practice in advance of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 coming into force on 2 December.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) to what extent the membership and voting rights of the Governor of the Bank of England on the European Monetary Institute will be modified if the United Kingdom declares against proceding to the third stage of economic and monetary union; [51]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
The Governor of the Bank of England would retain his voting rights in the Council of the European Monetary Institute irrespective of whether the Government were to decide that the United Kingdom should participate in the third stage of economic and monetary union.
The governing council of the European central bank will be the main decision-making body of the ECB and will take decisions about the single monetary policy. Only governors from the central banks of countries participating in the single currency and members of the executive board of the ECB will be members of the governing council. Only nationals of those member states may be members of the executive board, including the president and vice-president of the ECB. In addition, the treaty provides for a general council of the ECB, which will have very limited responsibilities. The general council shall comprise the president and vice-president of the ECB and the governors of all member states' national central banks.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent safety and environment reviews have been conducted by (a) the Health and Safety Executive, (b) the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and (c) the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency into nuclear-related operations at Dounreay. [2958]
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 230
Mr. Page:
There have been no recent safety and environmental reviews, but Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate, on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, carries out regular inspections of nuclear safety related operations on the Dounreay site. SEPA also carries out regular inspections to ensure that conditions of the discharge authorisations are in compliance with the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and these will be continuing.
Mr. Harvey:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade in what form and on what scale his Department will continue to fund business links beyond their third year of operation. [3777]
Mr. Page:
DTI funding for business links beyond their third year of operation is in the form of a grant to the relevant training and enterprise council for business link services.
The scale of funding for business links beyond their third year is currently being considered in the 1996 public expenditure survey.
Mr. William O'Brien:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current situation in respect of the EC's proposals on packaging and packaging waste. [3655]
Mr. Page:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environmental published for consultation on 11 July 1996 the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations, which propose to implement the provisions relating to the recovery and recycling targets contained in the EC directive on packaging and packaging waste, 94/62/EC. Responses received during the consultation period, which ended on 30 September, are now being considered. It is intended to implement certain other provisions in the directive by means of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, along with others relating to the identification and marking of packaging, when Commission decisions and a further Parliament and Council directive are adopted.
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact on United Kingdom representation at the general council of the European central bank, referred to in article 45 of the statute of the European system of central banks, if the United Kingdom decides not to join the third stage of EMU. [8]
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