Finance (No. 2) Bill — House of Commons, 2021-04-19
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alexander Jesse Norman (Conservative, Centre-right): It has been a good debate and I thank all Members who have taken part. Let me pick up some of the key themes that were described, one of which is the impact on taxpayers of the measures the Government have taken to address and fix concerns about the public finances The hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) raised this issue. As he will be aware from wider conversation and scrutiny, the Bill places a burden of £40 a year on the average basic rate taxpayer and no increment in take home pay. We think that a balanced and fair approach is one that is widely based and progressive. As I indicated, the top 20% of tax-paying households pay 15 times that of the bottom 20%. He was asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) whether he supported new clause 7, which would raise tax to 55%, and his was an eloquent silence in response. I would be interested to hear in the next debate whether he does support new clause 7’s bid to raise the top rate of income tax to 55%, but I will come to that later The hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss) raised the question of antibody tests. As she will be aware, antigen tests, which are subject to the relief in the Bill, are connected to employment, whereas antibody tests are not, which is why the relief does not extend to them. It is, however, fully open to the Scottish Government, who have capacity to raise tax revenue themselves, to fund antibody tests if they so choose. She has raised the issue and we can assess whether the Scottish Government wish to follow her lead in funding those tests. The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) described the tax measures in the Bill as a stealth tax rise. It is an interesting version of a stealth tax rise that is announced in a Budget statement at the Dispatch Box in the House of Commons. He was right when he said earlier that there was an honest disagreement here, and that is what there is. The Government’s view is that there should be a progressive, broad-based approach to fixing the public finances that begins at an appropriate time once the recovery is under way, and that remains the case The hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) declaimed the delay in the corporate tax rise. I remind her, since everyone is widely quoting the Resolution Foundation, that it said that the Government "rightly sought to boost the recovery before turning to fixing the public finances"— and it was right. She was opposed to the measures relating to the freeze on pensions in the Bill and appealed to the experience of ordinary people. Since the amount in question is over £1 million and the average financial savings in this country are something under £7,000, and since the lifetime allowance is itself seven times the median pension pot, I think that she is not using a definition of ordinary people that will be shared by Members of this House My right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) talked about the uncertainty involved, and he is right. We are coming out of a pandemic. There is a degree of uncertainty in the economic situation. That is why the Government have delayed, in the way that the Resolution Foundation has applauded, raising tax on corporations in order to start to restore the public finances. That is why it is right that we have taken a fair and balanced approach to this topic The hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) spoke in support of his 55% tax rate—not a view shared by the Labour Front Bench. I remind him that HMRC ran a study of the 50% tax rate a few years ago and discovered that it was inefficient, raised far less than had been expected and was distorting tax behaviour. That is not a good recipe The hon. Member for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) was concerned about the progressivity of these measures, but, as she will see if she looks closely, both the UK tax system at the moment and the changes themselves are highly progressive The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised the question about the risk of fraud in schemes. Of course, he is right to note that. He had some concerns about reclaims in the self-employment income support scheme. All I would say is that the scheme is well understood. It is very widely publicised. Guidance has been available on the internet and in many independent bodies for many months. If people have claimed income support through that scheme for which they are in fact not eligible, it is appropriate to reclaim the sum overpaid. That is the principle that we seek to apply elsewhere in the tax system because it, too, is a fair and equitable one Question put and agreed to. Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 2 to 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 5 Basic rate limit and personal allowance for future tax years Question put, That the clause stand part of the Bill.