| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Oct 2010 : Column 809W—continued
Tax Collection
Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to reduce the amount of tax due to the Exchequer which is not collected; and if he will make a statement; [17877]
(2) what estimate he has made of the additional revenue that would accrue to the Exchequer if tax collection were (a) 90 per cent., (b) 95 per cent. and (c) 100 per cent. of annual liabilities in 2010-11; [17981]
(3) whether his proposals to reduce the budget deficit includes an increase in the proportion of tax liabilities collected; and if he will make a statement. [17987]
Mr Gauke: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced the Government will make available £900 million over the spending review period to raise additional revenues from those who undermine the tax system and seek to avoid paying their fair share. This should bring in around £7 billion per annum by 2014-15 in additional tax revenues. Full implementation plans will be available after the spending review announcements on 20 October.
The recent publication of the tax gap figures for 2008-09 puts the overall tax gap at £42 billion (9% of estimated total tax liability), and is available at:
Taxation: Developing Countries
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in establishing a multilateral instrument for tax information exchange with developing countries; and if he will make a statement. [17863]
Mr Gauke: The Government are committed to ensuring that developing countries benefit from recent improvements in tax transparency. The Government are currently in discussions with a number of developing countries to explore the available approaches to enable developing countries to benefit from the new transparent tax environment. This includes examining multilateral instruments for tax information exchange.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to support capacity-building projects in respect of the tax collection administrations in developing countries. [18023]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) actively supports projects to enhance the capacity of tax collection administrations in developing countries.
In many instances, it is more cost-efficient for this work to be undertaken on a multilateral basis, which is why in recent years HMRC has engaged proactively in capacity building initiatives organised by the Intra-European Organisation of Tax administrations (IOTA), which includes in its membership 46 countries across the European continent, including developing countries in the Balkans and eastern Europe.
HMRC is also involved with the OECD Informal Task Force on Tax and Development which is examining how capacity building in the tax administrations of developing countries can be targeted to bring the greatest benefit to developing countries. The UK will remain closely involved in this work.
HMRC hosts and runs two flagship training courses on behalf of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA). The courses are designed to develop management capability and technical skills and are attended by senior managers and tax inspectors from Commonwealth countries.
HMRC is also involved in a number of bilateral initiatives such as the partnership with the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA), under which managerial and technical assistance is provided to support ERCA's modernisation programme.
Welfare Tax Credits
Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of tax credit recipients who will be affected by the proposed reduction in the disregard of increases in income from £25,000 to £5,000. [18233]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 June 2010, Official Report, column 584W.
Working Tax Credit: Fraud
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the monetary value of fraudulent claims under the childcare element of working tax credit where parents register children who do not subsequently attend before- and after-school clubs in the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such claims. [18097]
Mr Gauke: The information is not available as HMRC's systems do not record this level of detail. For information relating to HM Revenue and Customs compliance checks on tax credits awards I refer my hon. Friend to the information published on pages R41 and R42 of the 2009-10 Comptroller and Auditor General's standard reports at:
| Index | Home Page |