Written questions by Stainbank.

Whether the exemption for basic or new state pension to not have to pay small amounts of tax through simple assessment from April 2027 will apply to recipients of the State Earning Related Pension Scheme.

The State Pension is taxable income along with other pension income. As the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) is extra money on top of the basic State Pension, it is also taxable. The Budget has confirmed that the basic and new State Pension will be uprated by 4.8% in 2026-27, in line with our commitment to the Triple Lock. This means pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not pay income tax in 2026-27. The Budget also announced that the Government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The Government will set out more detail next year.

Whether the £200m National Wealth Fund allocation to Grangemouth could be used for Ministry of Defence projects.

As set out in the Chancellor’s Statement of Strategic Priorities to the National Wealth Fund, it should consider the role it can play in supporting the delivery of the wider Industrial Strategy, including in defence.

Whether she plans to maintain the UK’s Digital Services Tax until an international agreement on the taxation of multinational digital companies delivers at least an equivalent revenue outcome for the UK.

The Digital Services Tax is an interim solution to widely held concerns with the international corporate tax framework, and the UK remains committed to remove it once a global solution on the reallocation of taxing rights is in place.As the Chancellor has previously said, we will continue to make sure that businesses pay their fair share of tax, including businesses in the digital sector.

Whether the Government have reviewed the underspend on the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.

Under the previous Conservative Government, the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was wound down and closed in 2016. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants and the Scheme is on track to distribute the remainder of the £1.5 billion as planned. There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the application of the Litigation and Settlement Strategy on settlements made following disguised renumeration schemes.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025. The Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS) ensures that HMRC applies the law fairly and consistently. The LSS applies as much to the resolution of a dispute with a multinational corporation as it does to small business customers or individuals. This ensures every taxpayer, no matter who they are, pays the tax due under the law. Central to the LSS is that HMRC will not settle a dispute by agreement for an amount which is less than it would reasonably expect to obtain from litigation.

Whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the employment status of joint or sole directors who receive their income from both dividends and a salary.

An individual’s employment status is determined by the facts and circumstances of the engagement between the worker and engager. This is based on case law. HMRC takes steps to ensure individuals are correctly treated as employees, or as self-employed, where they should be. HMRC provides extensive guidance to support organisations and individuals understand and determine employment status for tax. The Government acknowledges that differences in tax treatment between employees, the self-employed and those working through a company structure can lead to individuals paying different amounts of tax while doing very similar work. Rates of dividend tax are lower than the main rates of income tax, partly to recognise the fact that corporation tax may have been charged on the profits that are then distributed in the form of dividends The off-payroll working rules, also known as IR35, have been in place for 25 years. They are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees but through their own company, usually a personal service company (PSC), pay broadly the same income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) as those who are directly employed.

Whether her Department has collected data on the share of e-bike sales comprising models imported from China.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK which includes data on imports of e-bikes. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. HMRC does not hold information on what percentage of sales in the UK are made up of e-bikes that were imported from China.Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. E-bikes are most likely classified within commodity codes 87116010 and 87116090.If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.

Whether the £200m allocation to Grangemouth from the National Wealth Fund is restricted for investment proposals contained fully or partially within the boundaries of the Grangemouth oil refinery.

The National Wealth Fund stands ready to provide £200 million of investment to finance projects in the Grangemouth area, subject to investible propositions meeting the National Wealth Fund’s criteria. Beyond Grangemouth, the National Wealth Fund is capitalised with £27.8 billion to invest in projects across the whole of the UK.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy thresholds on business competitiveness.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is globally recognised as a transformative health intervention. After SDIL was announced, the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope of the levy fell 46% between 2015 and 2020. These positive health impacts have been achieved without a negative impact on soft drink sales, with sales of drinks subject to the levy increasing by 21% between 2015 and 2020. Given SDIL’s success, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget 2024 her intention to review the levy to enhance its impact. The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, published on 28 April 2025, follows this commitment. Specifically, it sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar.The government takes potential business impacts seriously, continues to engage with businesses, and welcomes further feedback as part of the consultation, which is open until 21 July 2025.The government expects to confirm any changes to the levy at the upcoming Budget, and will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the confirmed policy. This will set out the expected impact of any changes on businesses and civil society organisations.The Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.

What estimate she has made of changes to annual revenue received from a single Remote Betting and Gambling Duty.

In the financial year 2023-24, betting and gaming duties raised around £3.4 billion in tax revenue.The Government is currently consulting on a single remote betting and gaming duty and we welcome responses to the consultation.Should the government proceed with these reforms, the rate of the new tax will be set as part of the Budget process, and the OBR will update its forecast then, based on the final policy design.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the awareness of small businesses of the change in eligibility for Employment Allowance announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Since announcement at Autumn Budget 2024, HMRC have undertaken a wide range of stakeholder engagement and employer communications through a variety of channels in advance of the significant increase to the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and removal of the threshold which prevented some larger employers from claiming. This includes webinars highlighting important changes for the new tax year for employers, and written articles in numerous editions of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin, Agent Update and Stakeholder Digest. In addition, HMRC has a range of channels to raise awareness of changes in tax policy. These include communications issued directly to stakeholders or published on gov.uk, and engagement with stakeholders through established forums such as the Employment and Payroll Group, which the Federation of Small Businesses attend.

What engagement she has had with the Federation of Small Businesses on small businesses awareness of the change in eligibility for employment allowance announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Since announcement at Autumn Budget 2024, HMRC have undertaken a wide range of stakeholder engagement and employer communications through a variety of channels in advance of the significant increase to the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and removal of the threshold which prevented some larger employers from claiming. This includes webinars highlighting important changes for the new tax year for employers, and written articles in numerous editions of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin, Agent Update and Stakeholder Digest. In addition, HMRC has a range of channels to raise awareness of changes in tax policy. These include communications issued directly to stakeholders or published on gov.uk, and engagement with stakeholders through established forums such as the Employment and Payroll Group, which the Federation of Small Businesses attend.

Whether the funding provided to Grangemouth through the National Wealth Fund must be spent on recommendations made through Project Willow.

The National Wealth Fund has made financing available for new investment projects in Grangemouth, subject to viable proposals that satisfy its investment principles coming forward. Project Willow identified numerous credible long-term industrial options for the Grangemouth site. The National Wealth Fund will consider providing financing to any projects being developed in the Grangemouth area that align with their strategic priorities. This includes but is not limited to those identified by Project Willow.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of instructing the Valuation Office Agency to carry out a revaluation of commercial properties in this Parliament.

The Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 and Local Government finance (Wales) Bill legislated for three yearly business rates revaluations in England and Wales from 2023. The date of completion for the next revaluation is 1 April 2026. The VOA are responsible for assessing the rateable value of non-domestic properties in England and Wales. Scottish Assessors are responsible for the policy and legislative framework, and set the tax rates in Scotland.

What proportion of funding forecast to be raised by the Digital Services Tax between 2025-26 and 2029-30 will be generated by US resident companies.

HMRC do not hold the information requested as the forecast is produced at an aggregated level, rather than for individual companies.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of reducing the headline rate of Digital Services Tax by the end of this Parliament.

The Digital Services Tax (DST) is an interim tax measure to ensure that digital services providers pay UK tax on digital services that reflects the value they derive from UK users. The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. It is UK’s intention to repeal our Digital Services Tax (DST) when this international solution is in place.The OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook publication sets out forecasts of Digital Services Tax revenues.

If she will make an estimate of the potential impact of applying VAT to unredeemed deposits in the deposit return scheme on revenues to the Exchequer.

The Government is currently considering the VAT treatment of deposits charged under deposit return schemes. Should VAT be applied to unreturned deposits HMRC expect the impact on exchequer receipts to be negligible.

Whether she has undertaken consultation with large family-owned businesses with more than 100 employees on the proposed changes to business property relief.

The Government published information about the reforms to business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government will publish a technical consultation in early 2025. This will focus on the detailed application of the allowance to lifetime transfers into trusts and charges on trust property. This will inform the legislation to be included in a future Finance Bill.