Nigel Huddleston: I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. Again, I cannot make any promises today, but I understand the important point he is making about the nil rate. Changes have been made over the years in that area, and I will come on to that point later. The vast majority of estates pay no inheritance tax. The combination of nil-rate bands, exemptions and reliefs mean that only 5.1% of UK deaths are...
Nigel Huddleston: As I said, estates valued at over £1 million paid 81% of all inheritance tax. I am aware of the time, and I need to leave a minute or two at the end for the wind-up, but I want to make a final point. We have had a very good discussion about inheritance tax, but we have had an inkling of the differences between the political parties. I am afraid that some Opposition Members started to delve...
Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to keeping taxes low to support individuals and families to keep more of what they earn. This is why the Government has nearly doubled the income tax Personal Allowance since 2010 (30% higher in real terms), ensuring some of the lowest earners do not pay income tax. Thanks to the Personal Allowance, around 30% of individuals do not pay tax. Furthermore, at the...
Nigel Huddleston: I should state at the beginning of my remarks that I completely understand the intent of new clause 3, because the hon. Lady is raising issues that are of great concern to hon. Members right across the House. However, she will not be surprised to hear that, once again, I respectfully disagree with her on the need for these assessments. We believe the proposed new clause is redundant because...
Nigel Huddleston: I shall respond to the hon. Lady on the plethora of analysis and support that goes on for a range of policy areas. We are not lacking in either interest in this area or consideration of impact. As I said, there are numerous Government Departments, bodies and other mechanisms already in place to systematically collect, monitor and evaluate the impact of Government policy across the UK. The...
Nigel Huddleston: On a point of order, Mr Paisley. Before you conclude your comments, I think this is an appropriate opportunity for me to make similar comments and thanks to those made by my opposite number. I agree with everything he said. I put on record my thanks to you, Mr Paisley, and your co-Chair, who did not have the opportunity to participate in this Bill; there will be other opportunities in the...
Nigel Huddleston: It will not surprise you to learn, Mr Paisley, that I respectfully disagree with many of the comments made by the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. The Government are—[Interruption.] As I said and as always, I disagree respectfully. The Government are fully committed to delivering on our legal obligations to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The net zero strategy...
Nigel Huddleston: I afraid that we are going to have yet another phase of respectful disagreement with the hon. Gentleman. New clause 2 would require the Government to report on the likely impact of the measures in the Bill on public finances and the cost of living. Numerous Departments and Government bodies already have mechanisms in place to systematically monitor and evaluate the impact of Government policy...
Nigel Huddleston: I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for those questions and comments. I think he has a good understanding of the purpose behind the changes we are making, particularly in the context of the anxiety that many of our constituents face. We all had correspondence on this during the pandemic, when people were frustrated at not necessarily being able to get some of the support mechanisms for which...
Nigel Huddleston: Finally, clauses 37 and 38 simply set out the Bill’s legal interpretation and short title in the usual manner for such legislation. I commend them to the Committee.
Nigel Huddleston: Good afternoon, Mr Paisley. Clause 35 makes changes to improve the data collected by HMRC. That will enable HMRC to collect more accurate and timely information, helping to make tax easier to get right and harder to get wrong, and providing better outcomes for taxpayers and improving compliance. Clause 36 introduces a new simplified and fairer system of penalties for the late submission of...
Nigel Huddleston: I will not stray into a broader debate; we will have that, I am sure, on Third Reading or at another point. I made my points on the broader economy earlier, but I gently request that the Opposition stop talking the UK economy and UK businesses down. By doing so, they are talking down the workers and companies in their own constituencies. This measure is designed to ensure the competitiveness...
Nigel Huddleston: I thank hon. Members for their comments. As I say, the measures are separate from the broader debate on IR35, which we have all heard about as constituency MPs. The legislation is complex, and it is right that we work through these complex issues thoroughly to address them properly. HMRC has undertaken a significant amount of informal consultation with key stakeholders to explore a...
Nigel Huddleston: My understanding is that the measures will not be retrospective, but I will write to the hon. Member for Glasgow North West or explain more in a later response if I am incorrect.
Nigel Huddleston: Clause 18 makes changes to ensure that the statutory reference under which the Scottish Government’s carer’s allowance supplement payments are made is corrected in income tax legislation, with retrospective effect. That will provide certainty to taxpayers. When Parliament enacted section 12 of the Finance Act 2019, it intended to refer to the carer’s allowance supplement as taxable...
Nigel Huddleston: The hon. Lady is right to highlight that—it is the very question that I asked. Nobody will be financially impacted by the change, which applies to a drafting error that has not been executed. It is a clarification purely and specifically on the legislation, as opposed to having any real-world impact on the finances. It is very important to get that point across, because we do not want...
Nigel Huddleston: Clause 19 widens access to the growth market exemption—a relief from stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax—so that it better supports SMEs and growth businesses to raise capital. It does that by lowering transaction costs, which will support our economy by boosting growth in innovative sectors. The relief will now be available to smaller, innovative growth markets, instead of being...
Nigel Huddleston: I thank the hon. Lady for her comments and questions. Any market that meets the requirements will be able to apply to HMRC to take advantage of the exemptions. The UK’s financial service industry is dynamic and innovative, so it is important that future markets are not restricted by legislation that has not been updated in almost a decade. It is also a question of fairness: it is right...
Nigel Huddleston: Clause 20 and schedule 11 make changes to ensure continuity in stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax treatment following changes made by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 that took effect at the end of 2023. Stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax are charged on transfers of securities in UK companies, but not generally on the issue of new securities. The main rate for both...
Nigel Huddleston: Clause 15 makes changes in relation to the occupational pensions of Members of Parliament, Members of the Welsh Senedd and Members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland. It will ensure that these groups receive tax treatment comparable to the wider public sector when their pension schemes remedy age-related unfairness in past pension changes. In 2015, the Government reformed public...