Clause 60 - Exemption for works bus services: extension to minibuses
Finance Bill
11:00 am
Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere, Conservative)
We have made good progress this morning. Clause 60 brings us to a slightly different subject. It deals with the use of buses by employers to transport employees to work, and with whether, as far as the employee is concerned, that use is a taxable benefit.
Currently, there is a tax exemption for employees travelling from home to work on an employer-provided works bus with a minimum of 12 seats. The clause reduces the minimum from 12 to nine, but we wonder why it has been fixed at that number. The Minister will no doubt say that that will help small employers, but I invite him to consider whether the limit will help all small employers and whether we cannot go further and do so. I am mindful of the fact that there are many people carriers on the road these days. Indeed, Committee members may drive them. I certainly drive one, although I hasten to add that it is not used to transport employees. Will the Minister give a nudge in the direction of employers who want to use people carriers with seating capacity for, say, eight people, to transport employees to work?