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MPs have begun four days of debate on the Budget, which will culminate on Tuesday with votes on the Budget resolutions (see below). This report picks out some of the contributions on tax matters from the first two days of the debate. They are grouped by topic rather than in the order the speeches were made.

The House of Commons Treasury Committee has published its much-awaited report on Tax after Coronavirus, the most ambitious parliamentary report ever produced on tax reform.

On Monday 1 March, the CIOT hosted the launch of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee report, Tax after Coronavirus.

The Government has responded to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee’s December 2020 report titled ‘New powers for HMRC: fair and proportionate?’ Of the committee’s recommendations the Government accepted nine and partially accepted six, rejecting nine. The Government outlined more of its thinking on professional indemnity insurance to peers and agreed that HMRC should justify themselves a bit more – but it stuck to its position that people applying for certain licences should be subject to tax checks.

MSPs have agreed to the Scottish Government’s income tax plans for the coming year and have hinted at the prospect of more substantive reforms to the Scottish tax regime in future years.

A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) examines how the Treasury and HMRC manage tax measures with environmental objectives, including the work undertaken to design, monitor and evaluate them. It explores how these ‘exchequer departments’ use their resources to manage the relationship between the wider tax system and the Government’s environmental goals, including its statutory commitment for the UK to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In an article for our website ahead of next month's UK Budget, Jason Collins, Chair of our Climate Change Working Group, reflects on a significant recent government report on the environment and outlines the challenges with emissions trading schemes. Jason is also a partner at Pinsent Masons.

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) published its ‘Growing back better: putting nature and net zero at the heart of the economic recovery’ report last week (17 Feb) which includes a call for VAT reductions to encourage energy efficiency, the use of recycled materials, and repair services.

MPs who make up the House of Commons Treasury Committee have published their latest report on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus, claiming there is scant justification for the Government not to have addressed the ‘hard edges’ of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) by now and calling for government support to be extended to those missing out, including limited company directors, the newly self-employed and self-employed people with higher earnings.

In a guest blog, Robin Williamson MBE, CTA (Fellow), an author and commentator on tax and welfare issues, looks forward to next month's Budget, saying it may prove to be more interesting than many yet.