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1 Feb 2010 : Column 101W—continued
Treasury
Bank Services: Afghanistan
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Dubai concerning large deposits or money transfers from Afghan nationals; and if he will make a statement. [313782]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There have not been any recent ministerial discussions related to particular deposits or transfers involving Afghan nationals.
However HMG holds regular discussions with the Emirati authorities on various issues related to the integrity of the financial system, including issues of financial crime. The UK encourages all jurisdictions to work towards full compliance with the international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the finance of terrorism set by the Financial Action Task Force.
Coinage: Forgery
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department provides to the public on identification of (a) counterfeit coins and (b) new coinage brought into circulation. [314421]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Royal Mint is responsible for the manufacture of UK coinage. 'A guide for identifying genuine coins' and information on 'UK decimal coins issued into general circulation up to 2008' are available on the Royal Mint's website:
as is the 2008-09 Annual Report which contains data on the 'Issues of circulating coins 2008-09' and the 'Estimated Value and number of coins in circulation March 2009'.
Departmental Public Consultation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many citizens' juries or summits have been hosted by his Department since October 2008; on what date each event took place; and which Ministers were present at each event. [314595]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Exchequer Secretary (Angela Eagle) on 22 July 2008, Official Report, column 1392W, to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban).
Employee Benefit Trusts
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009, Official Report, column 1007W, on employee benefit trusts, for what reasons HM Revenue and Customs does not keep a record of the number of loans taken from employee benefit trusts. [314689]
Mr. Timms: There is no legal requirement for the trustees of an Employee Benefit Trust to notify HM Revenue and Customs of loans made to beneficiaries.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010, Official Report, column 779W, on tax avoidance, for what reasons HM Revenue and Customs does not record the amounts contributed to employee benefit trusts. [314690]
Mr. Timms: There is no legal requirement for companies or trustees to notify HM Revenue and Customs of amounts contributed to an employee benefit trust.
EU Budget
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the UK's net contribution to the European Union in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [314597]
Ian Pearson: The latest projections for the UK's net contribution to the EU budget for the stated years can be found in footnote 3 of Table B15 of the pre-Budget report.
EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what taxation issues were (a) on the agenda and (b) discussed at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 19 January 2010; and what position the Government took on each such issue. [313906]
Mr. Timms: The ECOFIN agenda and discussion covered a number of proposals concerned with improving exchange of information and mutual assistance in tax matters. These comprised amendments to the savings directive, new directives on administrative cooperation and the recovery of tax debts, and proposals for anti-fraud and tax cooperation agreements with Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and Switzerland.
The Government broadly support the proposed package, which reflects the G20 priority to tackle cross-border tax evasion established at the London Summit in April 2009. ECOFIN reached agreement on the recovery directive and will continue its discussions on the rest of the package at a subsequent meeting.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many forms HM Revenue and Customs generated about changes of jobs in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009; [312153]
(2) what percentage of those who paid tax through the Pay-As-You-Earn system had more than one income source in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009; [312321]
(3) what percentage of employers did not operate changed tax codes for their employees in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009. [312336]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as the data are not centrally held by HM Revenue and Customs' systems.
Income Tax
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people likely to be affected by the new 50 per cent. tax band. [314046]
Mr. Timms: Budget 2009 announced that an additional rate of income tax of 50 per cent. would apply to total income in excess of £150,000 from April 2010, with a rate of 42.5 per cent. for dividend income.
Around 260,000 individuals are projected to have taxable income above £150,000 in 2010-11.
Figures are based on the 2006-07 Survey of Personal Incomes and projected in line with pre-Budget 2009 assumptions. The projection excludes any estimate of behavioural response.
Income Tax: Rebates
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the performance of the Taxback programme operated by HM Revenue and Customs; and how many pensioners have claimed back overpaid tax on savings income to date. [313263]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 196W, to the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb).
Insolvency
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Department's forecasts of future economic growth, what account is taken of the increase in business insolvencies which has followed past recessions. [314500]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury's forecast of economic growth takes into account a broad range of factors that are important for the outlook of the corporate sector including the rate of company liquidations. Box A4 in the 2009 pre-Budget report makes reference to the rate of company liquidations.
Monetary Policy
Mr. Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the unrealised loss has been to the Exchequer of the indemnity which has been given to the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund to cover its losses. [313858]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Bank of England will publish accounts for the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) alongside their annual accounts for the year ending February 2010. HM Treasury will include the implications of the APF for Treasury resources, that is the profit or loss of the APF based on valuations of APF assets at balance sheet date, in its annual accounts for the year ending 31 March 2010 Any profit or loss on the APF will only crystallise once the fund is wound up.
Part-time Employment
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance he provides through the taxation and tax credits system to people with part-time jobs of less than 16 hours per week; and how many people worked for less than 16 hours per week in each of the last three years. [313757]
Mr. Timms: People working part-time benefit from the personal allowance, which means they can earn up to £6,475 a year without being liable for income tax. As a result, someone working 16 hours a week on a wage of up to £7.80 an hour, well above the national minimum wage, will pay no income tax at all. Families with children, regardless of whether or not the parents work, can also benefit from child tax credit and child benefit.
Working tax credit is designed to create incentives for people to enter into and progress in work. It is only available to people working 16 hours a week or more, as working for less than 16 hours a week is less likely to create a strong attachment to the labour market and lead to sustainable employment.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), published by the Office for National Statistics, and available at:
shows that nine out of 10 employees in the UK work for more than 16 hours a week.
PAYE
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Pay-As-You-Earn coding notices were issued to (a) employers and (b) individuals in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008 and (iv) 2009. [312156]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as the data are not centrally held by HM Revenue and Customs' systems.
Revenue and Customs
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff the HM Revenue and Customs Large Business Service had in each year since 2006; how many cases it dealt with in each of those years; and what the taxation yield of the service was in each of those years. [313761]
Mr. Timms: The requested information is provided in the following table.
| 2005-6 | 2006-7 | 2007-8 | 2008-9 | |
| n/a = Not available | ||||
Tax Allowances
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual taxpayers claimed benefits-in-kind or paid business expenses in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009; and what total amount was claimed in each year. [313966]
Mr. Timms: This information requested is not available by calendar year. However, information about taxable expenses and benefits-in-kind for 2006-07 and a projection for 2007-08 is available at:
This information will be updated on 31 March 2010 and will include a projection for the 2008-09 tax year.
Tax Avoidance
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many disclosures have been made under the onshore account disclosure facility since the Finance Act 2009 came into force. [313903]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not recognise the term "Onshore Disclosure Facility".
In April 2007, HMRC launched the Offshore Disclosure Facility, enabling investors with offshore accounts to disclose tax due on income and gains not previously included in their returns. Around 45,000 individuals disclosed by the 26 November 2007 deadline. The facility recovered over £400 million in unpaid revenue. HMRC is pursuing those with offshore accounts who did not come forward under the arrangements, and has so far recovered a further £50 million.
In September 2009, HMRC launched a new disclosure opportunity (NDO). This is a second and final disclosure opportunity. By the notification deadline of 4 January 2010, 10,000 people registered to use the NDO. Registered individuals now have until 12 March to complete their disclosures and pay what they owe.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what expenditure on (a) advertising and (b) staff has been incurred in respect of HM Revenue and Custom's New Disclosure Opportunity; and how many disclosures have been made under this facility to date. [313904]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) total media spend for the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO), excluding VAT and fees, was £542,298.52.
HMRC estimate that staff time equivalent to a cost of £393,000 has been spent in 2009-10 on call handling, disclosure processing and project management of work under the NDO. HMRC undertook this work as part of their normal business activity.
By the notification deadline of 4 January 2010, 10,000 people registered to use the NDO. Registered individuals now have until 12 March to complete their disclosures and pay what they owe.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors he took into account in reaching his decision not to incorporate a general anti-avoidance principle in taxation law. [313908]
Mr. Timms: The Government keep all taxes under review, including the possibility of introducing a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR).
Following an extensive consultation on the possibility of a GAAR in 1998, the Government made the decision not to introduce a GAAR at that time in the light of responses received.
The factors considered include how a GAAR would work in conjunction with existing extensive anti-avoidance provisions; how it would affect new avoidance legislation going forward; and, whether, as in some countries with a GAAR, a special clearance system would be required.
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