Antony Seely

At present VAT is charged at the reduced 5% rate on the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs), including solar panels, in residential accommodation. The Government has introduced secondary legislation to amend the scope of the 5% rate to comply with European VAT rules (SI 2019/958). This took effect from 1 October 2019, although the Government has stated that the majority of solar panel installations is expected to be unaffected.

This note gives an introduction to National Insurance system, and the debate there has been about integrating National Insurance contributions (NICs) with income tax.

At present, although road fuel is charged excise duty, which represents a substantial proportion of the pump price paid by motorists, aviation kerosene (AVTUR) which is used in jet engines is exempt from tax. 

This note discusses the approach of Labour, Coalition and Conservative Governments since 2010 to taxing road fuels. Figures for the tax take since 1990, as well as duty rates over this period, are given in a statistical appendix.

Boris Johnson's Government have negotiated a new 'deal' with the European Union. It is formed of a Political Declaration and a Withdrawal Agreement. This paper focuses on the Withdrawal Agreement and how it compares to the one negotiated by Theresa May's Government in November 2018. The main differences are in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland or the 'backstop' as it is commonly known. It contains very different arrangements, the UK will no longer be in a single customs territory or union with the EU. The UK will no longer be legally bound to continue with level playing field commitments at the end of the transition period. Northern Ireland will still be in the UK's customs territory and VAT area, however, the region will align with the EU's rules in these areas. Northern Ireland will remain mostly aligned to the EU's regulations for goods. Four years after the end of the transition period Northern Ireland's democratic institutions will vote on whether they wish to continue the arrangements in the Protocol.

This note sets out the VAT treatment of construction work and the UK's discretion in setting VAT rates under EU law, before looking at the debate on harmonising VAT rates on all types of construction work.

This note looks at the debate on the treatment of spouses and civil partners for the purposes of inheritance tax, principally in the context of the passage of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004, and the provisions in Budget 2005 to ensure the tax system treated each in the same way.

In Budget 2012 the Government announced that from April 2013 it would introduce a cap on certain unlimited income tax reliefs. Initially many charities raised concerns that this could have a very serious impact on the incentives for those on higher incomes to make charitable donations. In December 2012 the Government confirmed it would proceed with the cap, though tax relief on charitable donations would be excluded from its scope. This note gives more details.

All taxpayers are entitled to receive a personal allowance to set against their income for tax purposes. Individuals aged 65 and over have been entitled to receive an additional allowance; an extra addition has been made for those age 75 and over. This note gives details of the allowance and the Coalition Government's decision, first announced in Budget 2012, to phase it out from 2013/14.

In general married couples are taxed as individuals, though a minority of older couples & civil partners may still claim a 'married couple's allowance'. Since 6 April 2015 individuals have been entitled to transfer part of their personal tax allowance to their spouse or civil partner, if neither they nor their partner are higher rate taxpayers.

For over 30 years businesses in the construction industry have operated a special scheme to account for tax on payments made between contractors and subcontractors. After a long period of consultation, the 'Construction Industry Scheme' was reformed in 2007. This note discusses the background to this reform, and recent reforms to tackle VAT fraud in this sector.

This note gives some background to the question of employment status and the difficulties it has caused in the construction sector, before discussing initiatives by both the Labour Government in 2009 and the Coalition Government in 2014, and more recent debates as to the possibility of a longer-term solution to this issue.

The National Insurance Contributions (Termination Awards and Sporting Testimonials) Bill, Bill 381 of 2017-19, was presented on 25 April 2018.