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7 Feb 2007 : Column 1036W—continued
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will break down the tax credit figures in Tables B13 and B16 of the Pre-Budget Report between the working tax credit, the child tax credit and the pension credit. [111199]
Dawn Primarolo: The tax credits figures in the tables referred to do not include pension credit, which is not a tax credit.
The figures are of net payments on a cash basis. The detailed information needed to break these down between child tax credit and working tax credit in a meaningful way is not available, and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
However, Table 3.1 at Note 3 to the HMRC Trust Statement for 2005-06 shows the full breakdown for HMRC expenditure in that year on an accruals basis. Note that these figures exclude the payments of child allowances in income support and job seeker’s allowance, which are included in the tax credits figure shown in Table B16 (see footnote 1 to that table).
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) representations and (b) appeals against the credit overpayment recovery decisions by HM Revenue and Customs were received in each month from April 2005 to January 2007; how many appeals were successful in each month; and if he will make a statement. [118753]
Dawn Primarolo: For the number of overpayments disputed and remitted in each month up to and including April 2006 I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 18 July 2006, Official Report, columns 359-60W. For similar information relating to the period May 2006 to August 2006,1 refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) on 10 October 2006, Official Report, columns 730-31W.
The number of disputed overpayments written off on the grounds of official error in October and November 2006 were provided in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on 8 January 2007, Official Report, columns 428-29W.
Around 800 overpayments were written off in part or in full by the Tax Credit Office because of official error in September 2006 and around 600 in each month December 2006 and January 2007.
The number of tax credits overpayments disputed in each month October 2006 to January 2007 (inclusive) was around:
| Number disputed | |
The figures for overpayments written off do not directly relate to those disputes that were received in the same month. TCO does not separately record whether an overpayment is written off in part or in full.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the operation of the IT systems for tax credits between 30 September 2006 and 31 January 2007; how many payments were made manually in each month over this period; and if he will make a statement. [118885]
Dawn Primarolo: The performance of the tax credit system is continually monitored and is proving to be stable.
The number of manual payments made in each month between 30 September 2006 and 31 January 2007 was around:
| Number of payments (Thousand) | |
The allocation of payments to precise payment dates requires a degree of estimation and are therefore rounded to the nearest 5,000.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notices warning of legal proceedings if payment is not made have been sent to individuals claiming tax credits who are in dispute with HM Revenue and Customs. [117995]
Dawn Primarolo: Where H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has tried but failed to contact a customer by telephone or where HMRC does not have their telephone number a letter is issued asking for payment and advising that enforcement action may be taken. In January 2007 approximately 30,000 such letters were issued and HMRC is aware that a number of customers have stated that they dispute the debt but were unable to contact the Department by telephone to confirm this due to a heavy volume of incoming telephone calls. The Department has no exact statistics on the number of cases involved but have now stopped issue of the letters and are reviewing the process for telephone call handling.
Alistair Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Mr. Richard Summersgill, the director of the Tax Credit Office, received a bonus in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06. [119281]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 6 February 2007]: Mr. Summersgill became director of Child Benefit and Tax Credits Operations in July 2005. In 2004-05 and 2005-06 he received non-consolidated payments as part of the senior civil service pay scheme in connection with previous duties.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the letters from HM Revenue and Customs of (a) 22 November 2006 (ref. HMRC 2006/08 006309KH) and (b) 22 January 2007 (ref. HMRC 2007/01 005703KH) to the hon. Member for Totnes, on the case of constituent Oliver Tringham of Dartington, what technical problem has prevented the settlement of
Mr. Tringham’s tax credit claim; what steps he is taking to ensure the problem is tackled; and what the reasons are for the time taken to conclude this matter. [119436]
Dawn Primarolo: I have asked HM Revenue and Customs to urgently investigate Mr. Tringham’s case. Tax Credit Office will write to the hon. Member with full details of their findings.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he expects HM Revenue and Customs to introduce the automatic limits on in-year recovery of overpaid tax credits which were announced in the 2005 pre-Budget report; and if he will make a statement. [118902]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 14-15WS.
Tax Free Childcare Vouchers
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of raising the value of the tax free voucher to (a) £75 and (b) £100; [107563]
(2) what the cost was of providing tax free childcare vouchers to parents in 2005; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost in each year from 2006-07 to 2009-10; [107564]
(3) how many employees received tax exempt childcare vouchers in 2005-06; and how many employees are expected to receive them in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2009-10, broken down by the numbers using vouchers for (i) under fives and (ii) older children. [107565]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), an independent social research organisation, to monitor the initial impact of the reforms to the tax and NICs exemptions for employer-supported child care, from the employer’s perspective.
NatCen published their report on 6 December 2006 and it can be accessed from the HM Revenue and Customs website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm It includes information on the number of employees using the tax and national insurance contributions exemptions today and indications of how this may change in the future. The report gives information too on the income level of beneficiaries and the average size of claims made. The report also outlines the ages of children using child care supported through the exemptions.
Tax Statistics
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the average per capita tax paid by each income decile group. [115448]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 February 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking what the most recent estimate is of the average per capita tax paid by each income decile group. (115448)
Estimates of the tax paid by households are provided in the ONS analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income". The latest analysis for 2004-05 was published on the National Statistics website on 12 May 2006 at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. The analysis is based on data from the expenditure and food survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK.
The results in the article are presented for households rather than on a per capita basis. However, the following table shows
average tax paid per capita within each household decile group. A more detailed breakdown showing each of the different taxes appears in the annual article (although presented as household averages, rather than per capita).
The direct taxes include income tax (after deduction of tax credits), employees' National Insurance contributions, and council tax. The indirect taxes include VAT, and duties, and a number of smaller items such as television licences. Indirect taxes also include intermediate taxes - these are indirect taxes paid by companies which are deemed to be passed onto households through the prices they pay for goods and services. More details are available in the article.
| Average per capita tax paid by each household income decile, United Kingdom 2004-05 | |||||||||||
| £ per year | |||||||||||
| Decile groups of households ranked by equivalised disposal income | |||||||||||
| Bottom | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | Top | All households | |
| (1) Direct taxes/include income tax (after deduction of tax credits), employees’ national insurance contributions, and council tax. (2) Indirect taxes include VAT, duties, and a number of smaller items such as television licences. Source: ‘The offsets of taxes and benefits on household income 2004/09, ONS’ | |||||||||||
Taxation
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what effect on the income generated to the Exchequer since 1999 has resulted from the (a) abolition of higher tax relief for vocational training, (b) tax on premiums paid by tenants to landlords to induce tenants to take out a lease and (c) increases to vehicle excise duty from new classes of lorries with 11.5 tonne axle weights; [104640]
(2) what effect on the income generated to the Exchequer has resulted from the abolition of the foreign earnings deduction since 1998. [104641]
John Healey: The figures relating to vocational training relief (VTR) charges were published in the 1999 Budget report:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_99/budget_report/bud99_chap01_budgetmeasures.cfm
There was no increase in vehicle excise duty rates relating to the increase in maximum lorry drive axle weights from 10.5 tonnes to 11.5 tonnes. Vehicle excise duty for trucks was reformed in 2001, when rates for lorries were cut by up to 50 per cent.
The estimated yield from the abolition of the foreign earnings deduction is available in the HM Treasury’s publication (HC620) “Financial Statement and Budget Report 1998”, table C.1 ‘The Budget Measures’. A copy of which can be found on the HM Treasury website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_1998/budget1998_budget_report/bud98_budmeas_annexc.cfmin
Taxation: Self-assessment
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) an individual taxpayer, (b) a partnership taxpayer and (c) a trust taxpayer of filing their tax return online if they are required to file all the additional supplementary pages; [119414]
(2) what estimate he has made of the amount spent by taxpayers on purchasing software necessary to file their tax returns online. [119417]
Dawn Primarolo: Self assessment tax returns can be filed online using either HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) full SA online service or proprietary software produced by commercial software vendors. Most proprietary software purchased to facilitate online filing of self assessment tax returns is bought by tax agents and is typically part of a broader package embodying accountancy and client management facilities. As such, no estimate of these costs has been made.
Most individual taxpayers can file their self assessment tax returns online using HMRC’s free online service which covers most circumstances. Other individual taxpayers filed using proprietary software, the cost of which varies.
Partners can also file their own tax returns using HMRC’s free online service. But both the partnership and trust return can only be filed using proprietary software.
Unemployment
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [118227]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 7 January 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of unemployment was in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (118227)
For unitary and local authorities, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of total unemployment from a statistical model. For all other estimates of unemployment for local areas, ONS compiles statistics from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
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