Committees

Further call for evidence for UK tax policy inquiry

2 December 2016

Following the initial call for evidence – and Terms of Reference for its inquiry into UK tax policy and the tax base – the Treasury Committee has received a great deal of evidence on the corporate tax base. This further call for evidence seeks views on other specific aspects of a shrinking direct tax base.

Sustainability of the tax base

Commenting on the call for written evidence, Rt Hon. Andrew Tyrie MP, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, said:

"In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor said that the government would consider how it could ensure that the taxation of earnings from 'different ways of working' is fair. He is right to be concerned about the sustainability of the tax base. A clear distinction is also needed between acceptable and unacceptable tax planning and avoidance."

Call for written submissions

  1. How big is the threat to the base for income tax and National Insurance from the changing patterns of working (for example increased levels of multi-jobbing and self-employment and different ways of working, to which the Chancellor referred in his Autumn Statement)?
  2. What are the consequences of the divergence of the rates of corporation tax, income tax and capital gains tax? Are the proposed reductions in corporation tax rates likely to encourage tax-motivated incorporations - as happened after the introduction of a nil rate of corporation tax for the first £10,000 of profits in 2000? Have the recent reductions in Capital Gains Tax encouraged the taking of income as capital gains?
  3. What is the incentive effect of the tax on all dividends above £5,000? Given that the dividend tax is not restricted to dividends from "close companies", is it harmful to businesses which rely on attracting personal investments in shares?
  4. What are the implications for the exchequer of the changing pattern of home ownership, in particular the reduction in owner occupation?
  5. How effective and economically efficient are Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax as a means of taxing capital in the UK? Are their bases under threat as people live longer or as wealth is reduced, or spread more thinly, from one generation to the next?
  6. How effective is the way that the UK taxes land? Is it economically efficient?
  7. Attitudes to "avoidance" have changed significantly over the last decade. In what ways have the actions of the Government and HMRC contributed to this? Is there a clear distinction between what is acceptable and what is not?  Can one be formed?
  8. What other threats to the UK tax base should the Committee consider?

Send a written submission to the inquiry on UK tax policy and the tax base inquiry.

Further information

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