argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): First, may I remind the Committee that, as listed in the register of Members’ interests, I provide advice to an industrial company and an investment company The Minister has produced what is on the whole an excellent scheme. I support most of it and was one of those, along with my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Mrs Main), who was lobbying hard to get this major reform through. I congratulate the Minister and the Chancellor on dealing with the problems that the slab system created. The peaks and the dead areas were damaging to the property market and made it difficult for some people to buy or sell properties in certain price ranges. The system probably distorted pricing as well, to the benefit of some people and the detriment of others. It is therefore good that we have smoothed it out and introduced a more sensible progression up to £937,000, where most of the transactions lie. The new arrangements will represent a fairer, lower-cost system for practically all transactions, which is wholly admirable I want to tease out a little more information about the rather pessimistic forecasts of how much revenue will be lost up to the end of this decade. It is clear from the figures that cutting the higher rate of income tax has produced considerable extra revenue, as it was bound to do, given that the previous rate deterred people or meant that they did not come here at all. It is also clear from the figures that the much higher rate of capital gains tax has been very damaging to revenues, which are still miles below where they were prior to the crash. This is a difficult one to call, and I am not saying to the Minister that the proposals would either damage or increase revenues. I am merely suggesting that the Treasury’s forecasts for that lengthy time period could prove to be inaccurate, and that it would be nice to unpack those forecasts in order to understand what the Treasury thinks is going on The problem with trying to forecast the revenues at this juncture is that, on the one hand, we have seen a slowing of the mortgage market in recent months through regulatory intervention, and we would therefore expect fewer transactions because the regulators and the banks are now being much tougher about mortgages. On the other hand, however, we have Government intervention trying to mitigate that effect through the very successful and helpful Help to Buy scheme, which I believe to be necessary. It is certainly helping people in my area to buy their own home. However, the net result of these arrangements seems to be a dampening of transactions, and we must bear that in mind when trying to judge the impact of those policies and to assess the impact of the stamp duty change. All things being equal, we should expect to see an increase in the volume of transactions under the £937,000 level because buying such homes will be a bit cheaper, and in certain price bands we will see activity occurring that would not have occurred at all because of the slab effect.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
Anne Margaret Main (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend share the optimism that I feel, having talked to small businesses in my community, that there could be a knock-on effect from people having a bit more money to carry out home improvements? Those businesses have suffered in recent years because people have not been investing in their own homes.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend brings me to an important point, which is that, over the course of this Parliament, the Government have been determined to address stamp duty land tax avoidance. It was a problem in the tax system. One certainly heard both anecdotally, and in the concerns of HMRC, of transactions being made to envelope properties and so on, which is why in 2012 we announced the introduction of the annual tax on envelope dwellings. It is why, over the course of this Parliament, we have taken a number of actions to deal with that avoidance. Had we not done so, it would have been difficult to make the reforms that we have in front of us today in an affordable way, as we would not effectively have been able to raise additional revenue from the top end of the housing market to counteract the reductions in revenue that will occur in the rest of the market Increasing rates would not have led to much, if anything, by way of additional revenue, because we would have found that it would have increased avoidance activity and we would not have got in the money that we would otherwise have done. As a consequence, the costs would have been unaffordable.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): Are there not two obvious ways in which certain groups of people in the higher value properties decide not to pay this tax? The first is people who are in a two to three-bedroom flat or a small house in a very expensive part of the UK, normally London, may decide that they do not want to swap properties or downsize or upsize because it is too expensive. The other is that the very rich people at the top end coming in from abroad may decide that this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back on the transaction. Some people might welcome that but it could still be a behavioural impact of this particular provision.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): The clause provides for the new method of calculating SDLT introduced by the Bill to apply to transactions where the effective date is on or after 4 December 2014. It introduces transitional provisions that apply in cases where contracts were exchanged before 4 December, but the contract was completed on or after that date. Under the rules, a purchaser may elect that the new rules do not apply. The election is made in a land transaction return, and must comply with any requirements specified by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs I should clarify a remark made by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary on Second Reading in response to a question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Yorkshire (Sir Greg Knight). The requirements are set out in the HMRC guidance published on 3 December, and simply serve to explain how the taxpayer should make an election; they do not restrict the application of the legislation in any way An election for the transitional provisions to apply is made simply by self-assessing the relevant amount of tax due in the return, or by amending the return, which may be done within 13 months of the effective date of the transaction. The transitional provisions are designed to protect purchasers who, before the changes were announced, entered into a binding contract in the expectation that the old rules would apply. In practice, more than 98% of purchasers will benefit from, or at least be no worse off under, the new rules. The transitional rules will ensure that those who exchanged contracts before 4 December are not disadvantaged as a result of the changes introduced by the Bill Question put and agreed to. Clause 2 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule agreed to. The Deputy Speaker resumed the Chair. Bill reported, without amendment. Third Reading
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time Let me start by thanking all right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed to the scrutiny of the Bill and who have done so in a constructive and positive manner. There has been considerable consensus and agreement on its contents and I welcome the support received from right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House The Bill makes important and comprehensive reforms to stamp duty land tax on residential property. The move from a slab to a slice system will cut SDLT for 98% of people who pay the tax—99% in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 91% in London. It will reduce distortions in the housing market and will be of particular benefit to first-time buyers and those making the first few moves up the housing ladder. It will ensure that nobody paying up to £937,500 for their home will pay any more SDLT than they would have done under the rules as they applied on 3 December last year The aspiration to own the place one lives in has been the driver of Britain’s prosperity for centuries. SDLT is an important source of Government revenue, raising £6.5 billion in 2013-14 to pay for the essential services Government provide and support, but as a tax it must be imposed fairly and reasonably, and to put it quite simply, it has not been until now. These reforms will boost people’s aspirations and, critically, ensure that SDLT is paid in a fair and applicable manner that minimises avoidance. They are part of a much wider suite of Government measures designed to get Britain building the homes it needs. Almost 217,000 affordable homes have been delivered since April 2010 and between 2011 and 2015 some £19.5 billion of public and private investment is going into affordable homes, putting us on track for the highest rate of affordable house building for at least two decades. A family buying a Help to Buy property at the average cost of £185,000 will be £650 better off as a result of the reforms—a significant sum, especially at a time when cash is most likely to be tight I welcome the efficient and effective debate we have had so far so. The measures will make a tangible and positive difference to the lives of people up and down the country, which has been recognised and welcomed by Members on both sides of the House. I hope that Members will see fit to read this Bill a third time and to pass it.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I, too, support the Bill because it is a move in the right direction. I strongly welcome the decision to get rid of the slab structure, against which I and others have lobbied strenuously for some time, and it is good that the Government have listened However, given that many of us believe in the virtues of home ownership, it is a pity that we still need a tax on home ownership at all. I welcome the fact that it is now lower, but I do not welcome the fact that we still seem to need a tax on home ownership. It is a great pity when we have to tax good aspirations in our community. Many of my constituents are now fortunate enough to own their own home, but there is a new generation who wish to do so, and this is still a high tax on them which they have to find a way of financing I hope that in future Budgets, as the long-term economic plan produces its magic and as we get rid of the deficit, we can return to this tax. The rates are still very high and it is a tax on one of the most essential things that families need. They need shelter; they need housing. The preferred type of housing for most people in our country is to own their own home, and this is still quite a large tax on home ownership. I know that the Minister and his colleagues are working away to ease the burden wherever they can in the straitened financial times we live in, and I know that they have a number of schemes to promote home ownership I urge my hon. Friend to do everything he can to promote home ownership because owning that first home makes such a difference to people’s lives. It gives them something to be proud of and it means that they can look forward to an old age not facing a rent bill, when they have at last repaid the mortgage and can truly call their home their own. It is very galling for them if a big chunk of the mortgage is paying Government taxes, so I welcome this small step to make home ownership a bit more affordable Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed. Consumer Rights Bill (Programme) (No. 3) Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)), That the following provisions shall apply to the Consumer Rights Bill for the purpose of supplementing the Order of 28 January 2014 in the last Session of Parliament (Consumer Rights Bill (Programme)), as varied by the Order of 13 May 2014 in that Session (Consumer Rights Bill (Programme) (No. 2)): Consideration of Lords Amendments (1) Proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after their commencement at today’s sitting (2) The Lords Amendments shall be considered in the following order: Nos. 12, 1 to 11 and 13 to 78 Subsequent stages (3) Any further Message from the Lords may be considered forthwith without any Question being put (4) The proceedings on any further Message from the Lords shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement.—(Jo Swinson.) Question agreed to.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Other
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): I must draw the House’s attention to the fact that financial privilege is involved in Lords amendments 24, 38, 39 and 77. If the House agrees to any of these amendments, I shall ensure that an appropriate entry is made in the Journal New Clause Secondary Ticketing Platforms
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson). Her arguments have not got any better in all the years we have been going around the houses on this matter, but I admire her for persistence in flogging this particular dead horse There have been a number of reports on secondary ticketing, and the hon. Lady said that the Government have listened to no one apart from certain companies. Perhaps they have listened to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, on which I serve, which looked into the issue and came up with a report that was unanimous, including among Opposition Members, showing that the market was legitimate and worked in the best interests of consumers. When a former Labour Minister, the right hon. Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge), came to give evidence to the Committee, she made it abundantly clear that she believed that as well, so I will be interested to see how she votes on the amendment. When the Office of Fair Trading looked into the matter, it reached the same conclusion. I am afraid that when the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West says that only a few big companies say that the market works in the best interests of consumers, she knows full well that she is talking absolute cobblers.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): It was during the last Parliament that the Committee and the Office of Fair Trading produced their reports and the right hon. Member for Barking made her recommendations. Of course time has moved on, but principles do not, and I will come on to the basic principle of the matter. I do not blame the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West for making the point that she does—after all, she is a socialist, so of course she wants to stop the free market and does not believe in it. If I was a socialist, I would not believe in the free market either. I would want to interfere in every single nook and cranny of how the free market operates. That is what the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy), who is on the Opposition Front Bench, wants to do, because she is a socialist as well and that is what socialists do. What astonishes me is that anybody who can call themselves a Conservative in any shape or form would want to interfere in the free market in this ridiculous way. [Interruption.] If my hon. Friend the Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Stephen Barclay) wants to intervene, I am happy for him to do so.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Stephen Paul Barclay (Conservative, Centre-right): Let us take the Rugby Football Union, for example. Tickets are sold at a discount to promote the game of rugby, so it is not the operation of the free market as my hon. Friend and I would traditionally refer to it. Tickets are sold to promote the game and are resold in breach of the terms and conditions. It is Government policy to ask the RFU to take enforcement action, but it cannot do that without transparency about which tickets are being resold.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I fear that by using the RFU as an example my hon. Friend is rather leading with his chin. The RFU makes very few, if any, tickets available to genuine fans for rugby internationals. The tickets go all round the houses to rugby clubs and so on, but a genuine fan who wants to go and watch rugby finds it difficult to get their hands on one. The secondary market is one of the prime reasons why—[Interruption.] I will not give way again. My hon. Friend has made his point—
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. For a genuine fan who does not belong to a rugby union club but wants to watch a rugby international, the secondary ticketing market is one of the best ways of indulging their interest The hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West and my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) found that every report on the secondary ticketing market went against them, so they decided in the all-party group on ticket abuse to produce their own report, because they knew that it could come to a conclusion with which they agreed. It was a sort of desperate measure—no one else would agree with them, so they produced their own report. As I understand it, in their report they argued against capping prices, yet the amendment is in effect a price cap. The amendment states that tickets can be resold, as long as they are not resold above their face value, and that is a price cap—[Interruption.] Of course it is. If someone can resell a ticket but that resale is limited to its price value, there is a price cap on that ticket. We have the extraordinary situation where the hon. Lady and my hon. Friend have come up with their own report, and now they have tabled an amendment that argues against that report. They argued against price caps, but the amendment would introduce one There are many arguments against a price cap. First, we do not have price caps on other things. If I buy a ticket to an event, as far as I am concerned that is my ticket and if I want to sell it on to somebody else—for whatever price I can command—that should be my choice. Similarly, if I buy a house and want to sell it on at a later date to somebody at a much higher price, and someone is prepared to pay that price, why should the Government interfere in that legitimate transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer People say that the market in tickets does not work properly because there is a dearth of supply and a lot of demand, and it is the same with houses. There are currently few houses for sale and a lot of people want to buy one, and the price of houses has rocketed as a consequence. Exactly the same arguments apply to housing as to tickets, yet who argues that we should have a price cap on houses and that someone cannot sell their house for more than they paid for it? It would be ridiculous for anybody to argue that, but it is exactly the same principle.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): In a moment, if the hon. Gentleman calms himself down. The only difference is that people think it is populist to say that we should have a cap on tickets, and they know that it would be grotesquely unpopular to say we should have a cap on house prices.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Housing
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): As far as I understand, that is exactly what the son of John Prescott, the former Deputy Prime Minister, did in Hull. As I recall, he bought a whole street of houses in Hull for a ridiculously low price and sold them on at a higher price afterwards. That is what happens. I know the hon. Gentleman is a socialist too, so I would not expect him to believe in the free market. However, Members on the Conservative Benches are supposed at least to consider themselves believers in the free market. If they agree with the Lords, and in particular with the hon. Lady’s amendment, I do not really see how they can justify that.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not saying that IT is part of the problem or part of the solution. IT is part of the real world. That is what we deal with and IT can benefit people. For example, people can put bids on things on eBay and then go to bed. This is what happens with technology: people make the best use of it Event promoters have many of the solutions in their own hands. Selling all their tickets in five minutes flat creates a secondary market. If promoters are so bothered about the secondary market and ticket touting for a popular event, it may be more sensible for them to start selling tickets in dribs and drabs. There would then still be tickets available to genuine people right up to the day of the event. They do not do that, of course. For cash-flow reasons, they want to get all the money in on day one. It is no good them saying that they want to get all the money in on day one—there is no doubt that the people buying up the tickets to sell on are helping them to get all the money in on day one and therefore helping their cash flow—and then complaining about the very same people they have sold the tickets to in the first place. They are creating the problem they are complaining about and I am afraid I have absolutely no sympathy with them. If they are serious about tackling this problem, the solutions are in their own hands: they should sell tickets in dribs and drabs so that people can go on the day and buy a ticket at face value. That would, at a stroke, make a massive difference to the secondary market There are lots of things that people sell that are at a premium. I have mentioned them in the past and I do not want to go through a long list again, but we have seen it with Christmas toys. People have a bun fight to try to get a particular toy at Christmas, buying up as many as they can. Five minutes later, the toys are on eBay at an inflated price. Are the Government going to start stopping people buying up any precious and valuable commodity that has a limited supply? Of course not; that would be nonsense. So why are tickets any different?
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Mixed Topics
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that there is another problem, which is that there is nothing to stop a seller wanting to sell a ticket in combination with another item? It would be impossible to know which item was being inflated.
Consumer Rights Bill — House of Commons, 2015-01-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very good point, which drives a coach and horses through the hon. Lady’s amendment. People could sell a ticket to an event along with a scarf or a hat and say that they are charging x amount for the hat and the face value for the price of the ticket. That would get around the hon. Lady’s amendment quite easily and make the whole thing complete nonsense.