Clause 19
Finance (No. 2) Bill
2:15 pm
Julia Goldsworthy (Shadow Chief Secretary To the Treasury, Treasury; Falmouth and Camborne, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendmentNo. 58, in page 21, line 6 [Vol 1], leave out from ‘(10)' to end of line 10.
This is a probing amendment relating to an addition to section 55 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994. Proposed new section 55A(1)(d) mentions
“the total value of the relevant supply, and of corresponding supplies made to the recipient in the month in which the relevant supply is made”
in excess of £1,000, which is referred to as “the disregarded amount”. The amendment seeks to remove that last part, following representations from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Law Society, which raised queries about setting the sum at £1,000.
The matter is quite simple, and it raises a question of practicality. The measures will affect only businesses with a turnover of £60,000 to £61,000. Will the Minister clarify the rationale behind setting the disregarded amount at £1,000? Is that threshold sufficiently low to avoid costs for business? If it is to be set at £1,000, should there be a threshold at all, or is there a case for setting it higher? I would appreciate the Minister’s comments on the rationale behind the measure.