Written questions by Stephenson.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of wealthy taxpayers leaving the UK on levels of (a) economic growth and (b) tax receipts.

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. As part of this, the Government is increasing the main rates of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to 18 and 24 per cent, while ensuring the UK tax system remains internationally competitive. At the Budget, the Government also confirmed its plans to remove the outdated concept of domicile status from the tax system and to replace it with a new residence-based regime from 6 April 2025, which is internationally competitive and focused on attracting the best talent and investment to the UK. The OBR have certified that the package of non-dom reforms the Government is legislating will raise £33.8bn in total revenue over the five-year forecast period. These reforms will ensure that everyone who makes their home in the UK pays their taxes here. These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her economic policies at attracting people to list shares in London.

The UK has recently attracted several high-profile listings from firms taking advantage of our reforms to make it easier to raise capital and fund growth on UK markets. This includes IPOs from high-growth UK firms such as Raspberry Pi and Applied Nutrition, as well as listings from prominent international firms such as Canal+ and CK Infrastructure. More broadly, in 2024 more capital was raised on UK equity markets than the next three European exchanges combined.

What assessment her Department has made of the of the potential impact of (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

With reference to the press notice entitled Prime Minister unveils game changing investment to tackle national security threat from people smuggling gangs, published on 4 November 2024, whether the £75m funding announced for Border Security Command is in addition to the funding allocations set out in the Autumn Budget 2024.

The Border Security Command is funded from within the Home Office’s Spending Review settlement, as announced at the Budget.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of imposing VAT on private school fees on the UK’s relations with European and international allies.

On 30th October, at Budget, the Government confirmed that, as of 1 January 2025, all education, boarding, and vocational training provided for a charge by a private school in the UK will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. International schools make an important contribution to the connections between the UK and its international partners, which the Government remains committed to strengthening and deepening further. While they can be subsidised by foreign governments, depending on their funding structure, many international schools still charge fees comparable to that of a lot of British private schools, many of which do not necessarily follow the UK curriculum, nor teach exclusively in English. It would therefore be unfair to carve international schools out of policy changes whilst comparable independent schools remain within scope.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of imposing VAT on private school fees on the UK’s global reputation.

On 30th October, at Budget, the Government confirmed that, as of 1 January 2025, all education, boarding, and vocational training provided for a charge by a private school in the UK will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. International schools make an important contribution to the connections between the UK and its international partners, which the Government remains committed to strengthening and deepening further. While they can be subsidised by foreign governments, depending on their funding structure, many international schools still charge fees comparable to that of a lot of British private schools, many of which do not necessarily follow the UK curriculum, nor teach exclusively in English. It would therefore be unfair to carve international schools out of policy changes whilst comparable independent schools remain within scope.

If she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies on National Insurance Contributions for employees of paragraph 4 of the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility entitled The economic effects of policy measures, published in October 2021.

In the October 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook the OBR set out “a central forecast to 2026-27 taking account of recent data and Government policies announced up to and including the October 2021 Budget and Spending Review”. The Government does not speculate on tax changes outside of fiscal events.

What steps her Department is taking to help support small businesses to comply with the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax regulations.

HMRC have worked closely with stakeholders in the business and tax communities on the design and scope of MTD for Income Tax to make sure it is fit for purpose. This has led to practical design changes and improvements that will benefit users. HMRC is currently testing the IT functionality, customer support model and customer experience for MTD for Income Tax. HMRC will continue to provide guidance and communications to help small businesses, landlords and their agents prepare for this change. Ahead of rollout, HMRC will also introduce a comprehensive communications campaign, based on customer insight, to further increase awareness.

What recent estimate she has made of whether the rollout of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will be completed by April 2026.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is an ambitious reform that will support modernisation of the tax system. The government is working collaboratively with HMRC and external stakeholders to bring the first businesses and landlords into MTD for Income Tax. Reflecting its status within the Government Major Projects Portfolio, the MTD programme is subject to strong governance and independent assurance by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.