§ Mr. Parkasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the tax treatment of season tickets provided by employers for their employees.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon:Under present tax law, where an employee not within the scope of the legislation governing benefits in kind is provided with a benefit by reason of his employment, that benefit is taxable if one or more of three conditions is satisfied: its provision represents the meeting of the employee's pecuniary liability, it can be converted by the employee into cash, or it is provided by means of a voucher received by or appropriated to him, which is capable of being exchanged for money, goods or services. When an employer provides such employees with season tickets in such a way that one of these conditions is satisfied, the provision is taxable as a benefit in the hands of the employee. The treatment in any particular case must depend on the details of the arrange-
£million 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 British Railways Board … … — 46.8 111.3 108.8 109.2 86.6 National Coal Board … … 8.3 8.3 18.0 28.2 34.0 36.8 National Freight Corporation … — — — — — 3.4 The figures for British Railways Board include the refund of pension fund deposits and the interest on them as well as pension funding payments. Payments to BRB and NFC in later years will depend on valuations of the funds which have not yet been completed. Pensions of pre-1975 pensioners under the mineworkers' pension scheme may be uprated to maintain their value and government contributions to the mineworkers' pension scheme will be related to any increased cost of these pensions.
70Wment. But, to give examples, liability would ordinarily arise in the following circumstances: a season ticket is provided as an alternative to payment in cash of salary or other emoluments; a voucher is exchanged for the ticket by or on behalf of the employee; the employee is entitled to retain any refund on surrender of the ticket; or the ticket is taken out by the employee who is then reimbursed by his employer. The provision of a season ticket for a director or a higher-paid employee within the scope of the benefits legislation is taxable by whatever means it is provided.