UK Inquiry Tracker

Management of tax reliefs

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 27 May 2020 Closed: 14 Sep 2020 Parliament page

The Committee has opened an inquiry into the UK’s management of “tax expenditures”: tax reliefs which are granted on certain activities or goods. There are two broad categories of tax reliefs: structural tax reliefs that are integral parts of the tax system - like the basic rate of income tax … Read more The Committee has opened an inquiry into the UK’s management of “tax expenditures”: tax reliefs which are granted on certain activities or goods. There are two broad categories of tax reliefs: structural tax reliefs that are integral parts of the tax system - like the basic rate of income tax relief - and non-structural tax reliefs or “tax expenditures” where the government opts not to collect a portion of tax for social or economic objectives - like tax credits for companies’ research and development costs, or income tax relief on pension contributions. Some tax expenditures simply reflect a policy choice by ministers to support particular groups or sectors, like the housing market, while others are designed to incentivise behaviour by making a choice more or less expensive. In the UK the largest tax expenditures are the reliefs on pension contributions, not charging VAT on food and new dwellings, and not charging capital gains tax on people’s main home. Tax “expenditures” reduce the amount of tax collected, rather than allocating tax resources after they’re collected as in the traditional idea of public spending. The UK tax system has over 300 of this kind of tax reliefs, which cost the Government an estimated £155 billion of foregone tax revenues in 2018-19, but National Audit Office evaluations have shown that the impact of applying different tax reliefs is not guaranteed, and many require careful monitoring to ensure the tax expenditure, the tax revenue given up, is “money well spent”. In a report published in February this year the NAO repeated previous concerns about the effectiveness of HM Treasury’s and HM Revenue & Customs management of tax expenditures . It found that there is no formal framework governing the administration or oversight of tax expenditures, and that while HMRC and HM Treasury have begun welcome steps to increase their oversight of tax expenditures and more actively consider their value for money, these will not be sufficient on their own to address value-for‑money concerns. To do that, the NAO found that the departments must formally establish their accountabilities for tax expenditures and enable greater transparency, pointing to lessons that can be learned from other countries that have established clear arrangements for evaluating and reporting on tax expenditures, and calling on HM Treasury and HMRC to follow suit by clarifying arrangements for value for money and improving the evaluation and public reporting of tax expenditures. Later in June the Committee will question officials from HM Treasury, and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, on management of tax reliefs, the number of reliefs and the Government’s understanding of whether they represent value for money. The Committee is now inviting evidence on the questions of accountability and value for money in tax expenditures raised by the NAO report: please make your submissions here before close of Friday 5 June 2020 Show less

14 Recommendations

16 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

3 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 6 events

25 Mar
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twelfth report from Session 2019-21

13 Jan
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, HM Revenue & Customs, and Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, H…

20 Jul
2020

Report published

Twelfth Report: Management of tax reliefs

6 Jul
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from HM Revenue and Customs on the Committee's inquiry Management of tax reliefs, dated 26 June 2020

6 Jul
2020

Correspondence

Correspondence from HM Treasury on the Committee's inquiry Management of tax reliefs, dated 26 June 2020

10 Jun
2020

Oral evidence

Management of tax reliefs

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

10 Jun 2020

View on parliament.uk

Management of tax reliefs

Beth Russell · Her Majesty's Treasury Jim Harra · HMRC Ruth Stanier · HM Revenue and Customs Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Twelfth Report: Management of tax reliefs	HC 379	20 Jul 2020	30	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 results

10 Conclusion Rejected

Twelfth Report: Management of tax …

Tax reliefs on pensions contributions, designed to encourage people to save for their own personal...

Tax reliefs on pensions contributions, designed to encourage people to save for their own personal pensions, are among the largest tax reliefs. HMRC forecast that the gross cost of these reliefs totalled £38 billion in 2018–19.18 We were concerned by … Read more

Government Response

The government disagrees with the Committee's concerns regarding pension tax relief, citing previous consultations, and states it is not the right time for a formal evaluation, though it will continue to engage with stakeholders.

HM Treasury

View details

11 Recommendation Rejected

Twelfth Report: Management of tax …

We asked how the exchequer departments could be sure of the impact that pension tax...

We asked how the exchequer departments could be sure of the impact that pension tax reliefs were having if they had not evaluated them. HMRC asserted that pension reliefs had been subject to extensive evaluative attention, with “virtually no stone … Read more

Government Response

The government rejects the recommendation for a full external evaluation of pension tax relief, citing previous consultations and ongoing stakeholder engagement, and stating it is not the right time for a formal evaluation.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 14 classified

Accepted 18

Accepted in Part 5

Acknowledged 2

Not Addressed 2

Rejected 2

Total 14 recs + 16 conclusions

Correspondence 3 letters

13 Jan 2021 Correspondence from Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, HM Revenue & Customs, and Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury, re Twelfth Report of Session 2019-21 Management of tax reliefs: implementing recommendation 3b, dated 22 December 2020

Parliament page

6 Jul 2020 Correspondence from HM Revenue and Customs on the Committee's inquiry Management of tax reliefs, dated 26 June 2020

Parliament page

6 Jul 2020 Correspondence from HM Treasury on the Committee's inquiry Management of tax reliefs, dated 26 June 2020

Parliament page