Work and incomes

This paper discusses the background to the Government's proposals, announced in the 2018 Budget, to introduce a Digital Services Tax from April 2020, in the context of wider concerns as to the challenge of taxing digital businesses and moves to agree reforms to the international tax system.

This note sets out the rules regarding the tax treatment of alcohol and tobacco purchases made by passengers, and sets out proposals the Government has published for reforming these rules in the context of Brexit, and the UK’s departure from the EU single market.

In the 2016 Budget the Government announced the introduction of the Loan Charge - a major initiative to tackle the mass marketing of tax avoidance ‘loan schemes’. Since the legislation establishing the Loan Charge was introduced, there have been many concerns as to its design and the financial difficulties facing taxpayers who used these schemes to either settle with HMRC or pay the Charge. In the 2020 Budget the Government confirmed it would implement a series of reforms to the Loan Charge, following the recommendations of an independent review, chaired by Sir Amyas Morse.

This paper discusses the way that Parliament scrutinises the Government's proposals for taxation, set out in the annual Budget statement. It looks at how this procedure may be affected by the timing of a General Election, and the decision in 2017 to move the Budget from the Spring to the Autumn. It also provides some suggestions for further reading.

This note lists a series of key documents on taxation.

The Troubled Families Programme (TFP) is a programme in England administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The programme conducts targeted interventions for families experiencing multiple problems, including crime, anti-social behaviour, truancy, unemployment, mental health problems and domestic abuse. This briefing examines the TFP since 2012, details MHCLG evaluations of the programme, and describes recent commentary and potential future directions for the programme.

This paper tracks the evolving impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the labour market.

This page provides constituency-level data on deprivation in England.

UK tax law is specifically targeted rather than purposive: in tackling the exploitation of loopholes in the law, governments have legislated against individual avoidance schemes as and when these have come to light. This note looks at the case that has been made recently for a general anti-avoidance rule, and the Coalition Government's introduction of a 'narrower' General Anti-Abuse Rule in 2013.

A briefing on the Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No.2) Bill 2019-21

The European Investment Bank lends to projects that contribute to growth and employment within Europe. This briefing gives a short overview of the Bank's membership and operation, and its future relationship with the UK.

This paper presents the latest statistics on youth unemployment in the UK as well as comparisons with other EU countries.

This paper provides figures for the number of people claiming unemployment benefits (the “claimant count”) by parliamentary constituency, as well as a summary of the latest labour market statistics for the UK as a whole.