29 November 2024
Finance Bill 2024-25, the Finance Bill introduced to enact many of the Autumn Budget’s tax announcements, had its Second Reading debate in the House of Commons on 27 November 2024. MPs agreed to give the Bill its Second Reading by a vote of 332 to 176.
The Finance Bill will now move on to its Committee Stages. The Bill’s provisions on capital gains tax rates and reliefs (Clauses 7 to 12 and Schedules 1 and 2), oil and gas taxation (Clauses 15 to 18 and Schedule 3), VAT on private school fees (Clauses 47 to 49), and stamp duty land tax (Clauses 50 to 53) will be considered by MPs sitting in a Committee of the Whole House provisionally scheduled to sit on 10 and 11 December 2024. The Bill’s other clauses and schedules will subsequently be considered by MPs in a separate Public Bill Committee. Dates for the Public Bill Committee hearings are yet to be announced.
HMRC have published the new advisory fuel rates for company cars applicable from 1 December 2024. The previous mileage rates, effective from 1 September 2024, can be used for up to one month from the date the new rates apply. Compared to the previous rates, each of the advisory fuel rates for petrol and diesel engines have decreased by 1p. The rates for cars with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engines, and the advisory electricity rate for fully-electric cars, are unchanged from the previous quarter.
On 21 November 2024, the OECD released the latest in its annual series of statistical reports Revenue Statistics 2024. The report provides internationally comparative data on tax levels and tax structures in OECD member jurisdictions. The report finds that the provisional tax-to-GDP ratio for the UK decreased very slightly from 35.4% to 35.3% between 2022 and 2023, while the OECD-average ratio fell from 34.0% to 33.9% over the same period. Overall tax revenues increased as a share of GDP in 2023 in 18 of the 36 OECD countries surveyed, declined in 17 countries, and remained at the same level in one. Across the OECD, tax-to-GDP ratios ranged from 17.7% (Mexico) to 43.8% (France). The 26.1 percentage point difference between the highest and the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios is the smallest such difference recorded by the OECD since at least 2000.
On the same day, the OECD published its report Consumption Tax Trends 2024. Amongst its findings are that standard VAT rates across OECD countries increased slightly to 19.3% on average (from 19.1% in 2023). All OECD countries with a VAT system have introduced rules that reflect the OECD standards on online sales of services and digital products from non-resident e-commerce vendors and marketplaces. A number of countries have expanded these rules to include imports of low-value goods. Most OECD countries have implemented electronic reporting obligations, although the scope and nature of the obligations can differ significantly between countries.
The government has announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators. Publishing its response to the consultation on the levy, which ran from October to December 2023, the government states that the “levy will be paid by operators and collected and administered by the Gambling Commission under the strategic direction of the Government”. The levy will be charged at a set rate for holders of Gambling Commission operating licences, depending on the sector and nature of the gambling activity. The rate will range from 1.1% (for online operators) to 0.1% of Gross Gambling Yield. Funding from the levy will be allocated as follows: 20% to develop research on gambling to inform future policy and regulation; 30% to develop a comprehensive approach to the prevention of gambling-related harm; and 50% to an NHS-led gambling treatment system. Regulations will be laid before Parliament shortly, and it is intended that the levy will come into force on 6 April 2025. The government has also confirmed that it will implement online slot stake limits of £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over, and £2 for 18 to 24 year olds.
The next EMEA Dbriefs tax webcast will be on Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 12:00 GMT/13:00 CET, Pillar Two and M&A – A practical guide. Our presenters will share insights into how global minimum taxes under the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s Pillar Two rules can differ from other taxes in the context of mergers and acquisitions. Our speakers will present a simple M&A case study, stepping through the key thought processes in navigating the Pillar Two issues.
Then, on Thursday 5 December 2024 at 12.00 GMT/13.00 CET, there will be the latest webcast from our indirect tax and trade series: E-invoicing – A journey of compliance and transformation. Our panel will explore the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities presented by e-invoicing across Europe.