Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-01-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of tax relief to businesses since 2010.

Mr David Gauke

Tax reliefs are administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as part of the tax system. HMRC publishes estimated costs of the principal tax expenditure and structural reliefs. The latest estimates are published on the HMRC website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-expenditures-and-ready-reckoners

There are some tax reliefs which businesses can claim where estimates are not yet included in the published estimates above. These reliefs include:

Patent Box: Estimates on the cost of this relief are available within Budget 2013 documentation: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/221895/budget2013_policy_costings.pdf

Theatre Productions Tax Relief: Estimates on the cost of this relief are available within Budget 2014 documentation:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295067/PU1638_policy_costings_bud_2014_with_correction_slip.pdf

Children’s TV Tax Relief: Estimates on the cost of this relief are available within Autumn Statement documentation: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384071/AS2014_policy_costings_final.pdf

Oil and Gas Field allowances: The ring fence tax regime for oil and gas does include a number of field allowances, which reduce the tax burden on specific challenging field types, ensuring otherwise economic developments are not uncommercial. Companies continue to pay Ring Fence Corporation Tax (which is higher than the main CT rate) even where income is covered by the field allowance