[Metrobeans]

B434 - Tax Interest Parity Bill 2012, TSR Libertarian Party

Tax Interest Parity Act 2012

An Act stopping businesses and self-employed losing interest payments due to being overcharged by HM Revenue and Customs.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

Part I: Interest Rates
1 Interest On Tax
(1) The interest rate for all money either owed to, or owed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is the same as the Bank of England official bank rate plus eight percent.

Part II: Miscellaneous
2 Short Title
(1) This act may be cited at the Fair Interest Act 2012

Notes

Currently HM Revenue and Customs have control over the levels of interest payable on tax both by those owing them money, and money they owe businesses and the self-employed as over-charge separately. This can lead to grossly unfair situations such as the following:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/mon...cle5561148.ece

Businesses and the self-employed thus lose their own interest payments due to being overcharged by HR Revenue & Customs, with no compensation, effectively creating a tax emposes unchecked by the Revenue. The opposite situation involves them paying interest to the Revenue. The bill seeks to adress this imbalance.

Changes

First -> Second Reading: Interest rate changed from base rate to (base rate + 8%). This is to disincentivise delays on either payment of tax, or on repayment of taxpayers.

[Mechie]

Abstained because I'm not an expert and I wasn't provided with an example I could actually read without paying.

[Maddog Jones]

>Tax
>Libertarians

No

[JPKC]

Aye.

[mevidek]

Abstaining as I don't really know that much about the statistics and the numbers.

[toronto353]

Abstained for the same reasons as david.

[cambo211]

(Original post by Maddog Jones)
>Tax
>Libertarians

No

[toronto353]

(Original post by cambo211)

Yes that remark confused me as well.

[RoryS]

Not sure about this one, unfamiliar with this area of Government - so I'm abstaining also.

[TopHat]

I feel very uneasy about this bill. So many of us are having to abstain because the concept hasn't been explained well enough I feel we can't really be giving an accurate yes/no answer.

[Moleman1996]

Aye, but it could have been better explained. 17 abstentions already.

[TopHat]

I feel if abstentions have a majority of the votes, something is not right at all.

[toronto353]

(Original post by TopHat)
I feel if abstentions have a majority of the votes, something is not right at all.

Absolutely. Not everyone is an economist. On economics Bills, should the party want them to pass, then they need to explain the principles in layman's terms.

[TopHat]

The thing is, I don't want this to just be rejected. I feel there is a lot of ground for discussion. On the other hand, I don't want it passed when most people aren't sure what it does. I think I'll ask j&t if he'd kindly consider withdrawing it, and submitting a third reading with better notes that contain examples.

[jesusandtequila]

It's not a 'concept'. As we've said exactly in the readings.

Currently, when you underpay tax - you get charged interest on the amount you pwe at 6.5pc - 13.5pc (depending on which tax and which rate you pay), then when you pay it back you pay back the amount you owe plus the interest charged. When you overpay tax, the the balance HMRC accrues interest at a much smaller rate (currently 0pc). We're fixing it so those two rates are the same - at the rate the BoE sets plus 8pc.

I won't be withdrawing, we've explained this very clearly, it's not economics just because it has a number, and it's not any of our fault that people can't read in the readings.

Do you really need an example to understand this? Puh-lease.

[jesusandtequila]

(Original post by Maddog Jones)
>Tax
>Libertarians

No

Wonderful contribution to the house...as always.

[Keckers]

I'm pretty far removed from being an economist and to me this is a fairly simple concept. What are people having trouble understanding?

[jesusandtequila]

(Original post by toronto353)
Absolutely. Not everyone is an economist. On economics Bills, should the party want them to pass, then they need to explain the principles in layman's terms.

Which of these terms isn't layman's?


(1) The interest rate for all money either owed to, or owed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is the same as the Bank of England official bank rate plus eight percent.

Interest rate? Money? HMRC? Bank of England official rate? Percent? When asked we've explained what the status quo is and how this changes it, in the readings. See the Liber Question thread for a fuller response.

[toronto353]

(Original post by jesusandtequila)
Which of these terms isn't layman's?


(1) The interest rate for all money either owed to, or owed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is the same as the Bank of England official bank rate plus eight percent.

Interest rate? Money? HMRC? Bank of England official rate? Percent? When asked we've explained what the status quo is and how this changes it, in the readings. See the Liber Question thread for a fuller response.

But what effect will that have on the ordinary person? What does it actually do? Why that particular rate? You haven't really explained any of that.

[Keckers]

(Original post by toronto353)
But what effect will that have on the ordinary person? What does it actually do? Why that particular rate? You haven't really explained any of that.

It was explained in the readings, more than once.