Finance Bill Committee of Whole House debates: summary of clauses

Finance Bill Committee of Whole House debates

Day One - Monday 19 November

Group One: Thresholds and reliefs 

Debate starts between 3.30 and 5.30pm (depending on statements / urgent questions) and lasts up to three hours

Clause 5: Basic rate limit and personal allowance
Clause 6: Starting rate limit for savings for tax year 2019-20
Clause 8: Exemption for benefit in form of vehicle-battery charging at workplace
Clause 9: Exemptions relating to emergency vehicles
Clause 10: Exemption for expenses related to travel
Clause 38 and schedule 15: Entrepreneurs’ relief
Clause 39: Gift aid etc: restrictions on associated benefits
Clause 40: Charities: exemption for small trades etc
Clause 41: Relief for first-time buyers in cases of shared ownership
Clause 42: Repayment to first-time buyers in cases of shared ownership

Amendments and new clauses tabled for debate with this group:

• Amendment 5 (SNP) - increase the personal allowance from the proposed £12,500 to £12,750
• Amendment 6 (SNP) - take out provisions removing the legal link between the personal allowance and the national minimum wage
• Amendment 1 (Labour) - Chancellor must publish a distributional analysis of (a) the effect of reducing the threshold for the additional rate to £80,000, and (b) the effect of introducing a supplementary rate of income tax, charged at a rate of 50%, above a threshold of £125,000
• New clause 1 (Labour) – would have same effect as amendment 1
• Amendment 18 (Lib Dems) – remove clause 5 (which sets the income tax personal allowance at £12,500 and the basic rate limit at £37,500 (thus making the higher rate threshold £50,000) for the tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21)
• New clause 2 (Labour) - Chancellor must review and report on the impact of the provisions of section 5 (which raises income tax personal allowance and higher rate threshold) on different groups, including different parts of the UK, and on their impact on child poverty and equality 
• New clause 3 (Labour) - Chancellor must review the effectiveness of the changes made to entrepreneurs’ relief by Schedule 15, against the stated policy aims of that relief
• New clause 7 (SNP) – Chancellor must review and report on the impact on investment in different parts of the UK of the changes made to entrepreneur’s relief by Schedule 15 
• New clause 8 (SNP) - would require a geographical impact assessment of income tax exemptions relating to private use of an emergency vehicle
• New clause 9 (SNP) - would require a report on each of the clauses in this group covering (a) whether a version of the provision was published in draft, (b) if so, whether changes were made as a result of consultation on the draft, and (c) if not, the reasons why the provision was not published in draft and any consultation which took place on the proposed provision in the absence of such a draft
• New clause 18 (backbench, cross-party, led by Debbie Abrahams (Lab)) – Chancellor must review the public health and poverty effects of the provisions of Basic Rate Limit and Personal Allowance changes in section 5 of this Act 
• New clause 19 (SNP) - require a distributional analysis of what the effect would be of increasing the personal allowance to £12,750

Group Two: Brexit-related

• Debate starts immediately after debate and any votes on group one (above) which probably means it will start between 7 and 8pm; again it will last up to three hours
• Clauses 68-78: Carbon emissions tax (enabling provision for if we leave the EU Emissions Trading Scheme)
  
• Clause 89: Minor amendments in consequence of EU withdrawal (creates a power for the government to make minor amendments, for example to EU references, within tax law by regulation, where these relate to Brexit) 
  
• Clause 90: Emissions reduction trading scheme: preparatory expenditure (again an enabling provision for if we leave the EU Emissions Trading Scheme)

Amendments and new clauses tabled for debate with this group:

• Amendment 14 (backbench, cross-party, led by Chuka Umunna (Lab), with other signatories including Anna Soubry (Con), Vince Cable (Lib Dem) and Stephen Gethins (SNP)) - requires the first use of the powers in clause 89 intended to modify tax legislation in the event of a no deal Brexit to be accompanied by a statement of the circumstances and a comparative analysis of their impact, accompanied by an OBR assessment
• Amendment 15 (Lab) - no regulations can be made under clause 89 until Chancellor has laid a statement before the House of Commons setting out the powers in relevant tax legislation that the Treasury has acquired in connection with Brexit, and the powers it expects to acquire in certain exit scenarios 
• Amendment 22 (Lab) – before powers can be exercised under clause 89 there must be a review of (among other things) the fiscal and economic effects of the exercise of those powers and of the outcome of Brexit negotiations giving rise to their exercise
• Amendment 7 (SNP) - would make statutory instruments enabled by clause 89 subject to affirmative procedure
• Amendment 20 (Lab) - no regulations may be made under clause 89 unless the UK has left the EU without a negotiated withdrawal agreement
• Amendment 21 (Lab) – requires a review of the impact of clause 89 powers on tax receipts
• Amendment 2 (Lab) – clause 89 sunset clause – it would cease to have effect after two years (renewable for an additional period of up to three years)
• Amendments 8 and 9 (SNP) – require a statement on circumstances (in relation to negotiations) giving rise to the need for, as well as an estimate of the cost of, preparatory expenditure to introduce a charging scheme for greenhouse gas allowances
• Amendment 10 and new clause 10 (SNP) - require a review within 6 months of the expenditure implications of introducing a carbon emissions tax
• New clause 11 (SNP) – would require a report on each of the clauses in this group covering (a) whether a version of the provision was published in draft, (b) if so, whether changes were made as a result of consultation on the draft, and (c) if not, the reasons why the provision was not published in draft and any consultation which took place on the proposed provision in the absence of such a draft
• New clause 17 (Lab) – require a review of the carbon emissions tax within a year of the provisions taking effect, to determine the effect of the tax on the UK’s carbon price, and the effect of the tax on the UK’s ability to comply with its fourth and fifth carbon budgets

Day Two – Tuesday 20 November

Group Three: Gaming duty and remote gaming duty                       

Debate starts between 12.30 and 2.30pm (depending on statements / urgent questions) and lasts up to three hours

• Clause 61: Remote gaming duty (rate)
• Clause 62 and schedule 18: Gaming duty
• Amendments and new clauses tabled for debate with this group:
• Amendments 16 and 17 (government) - provide for the increase in the rate of remote gaming duty to take effect from 1 April 2019 instead of 1 October 2019
• Amendments 11-13 (backbench, cross-party, led by Carolyn Harris (Lab) with many other signatories including Iain Duncan Smith (Con), Kirsty Blackman (SNP) and Nigel Dodds (DUP) - provide for the increase in the rate of remote gaming duty to be set by regulations, but that these cannot be made unless £2 maximum stake for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) has been given effect from 1 April 2019 (at the latest) (NB. These were tabled before the government announcement that they would introduce the £2 maximum stake for FOBTs from April.)
• New clause 12 (SNP) - would require a review of the public health effects of gaming provisions
• New clause 13 (SNP) - – would require a report on each of the clauses in this group covering (a) whether a version of the provision was published in draft, (b) if so, whether changes were made as a result of consultation on the draft, and (c) if not, the reasons why the provision was not published in draft and any consultation which took place on the proposed provision in the absence of such a draft
• New clause 16 (backbench, cross-party, led by Carolyn Harris (Lab) – same supporters as amendments 11-13) – requires the Treasury to review the feasibility and impact of bringing forward from October 2019 the implementation of an increase in remote gambling duty, which is linked to the implementation of a £2 maximum stake on FOBTs 
  
  Group Four: Avoidance and Evasion 

Debate starts immediately after debate and any votes on group three (above) which probably means it will start between 2.30 and 5pm; again it will last up to three hours

• Clause 15 and schedule 3: Offshore receipts in respect of intangible property
• Clause 16 and schedule 4: Avoidance involving profit fragmentation arrangements
• Clause 19: Hybrid and other mismatches: scope of Chapter 8 and “financial instrument”
• Clause 20: Controlled foreign companies: finance company exemption and control
• Clause 22 and schedule 7: Payment of CGT exit charges
• Clause 23 and schedule 8: Corporation tax exit charges
• Clause 46: Stamp duty: transfers of listed securities and connected persons
• Clause 47: SDRT: listed securities and connected persons
• Clause 83: International tax enforcement: disclosable arrangements

Amendments and new clauses tabled for debate with this group:

• Amendment 19 (Lab) – require a review of the effects of the changes to the controlled foreign companies regime made by this section
• Amendment 3 (Lab) - require the beneficiary of a trust entering a CGT exit charge payment plan to provide information about the source of its income on a public register
• Amendment 4 (Lab) - require the beneficiary of a trust entering a CGT exit charge payment plan to provide information about the source of its income on a public register
• Amendment 24 (backbench, cross-party (though no Conservatives), led by Stella Creasy (Lab)) – in relation to clause 83, require a report on the participation of companies that have entered into public private partnership agreements with public sector bodies in arrangements that are required to be disclosed by regulations under this section
• Amendment 23 (Lab) – no regulations may be made under clause 83 unless the Chancellor has published a report on how the powers in this section are to be exercised in various Brexit-related scenarios 
• New clause 5 (Lab) - requires the Chancellor to carry out and publish a review of the effects of the tax avoidance provisions of the Bill on households with different levels of income, on child poverty, people with protected characteristics and on a regional basis
• New clause 6 (Lab) - requires the Chancellor to carry out and publish a review of the effectiveness of the provisions of this Bill in tackling artificial tax avoidance and tax evasion, and in reducing the tax gap
• New clause 14 (SNP) - require a review of the effectiveness of the provisions of this Bill on tax avoidance.
• New clause 15 (SNP) – would require a report on each of the clauses in this group covering (a) whether a version of the provision was published in draft, (b) if so, whether changes were made as a result of consultation on the draft, and (c) if not, the reasons why the provision was not published in draft and any consultation which took place on the proposed provision in the absence of such a draft

By George Crozier, CIOT Head of External Relations.