§ Mr. Douglas Hoggasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will agree to waive interest due on outstanding tax when, by reason of the industrial action now being taken by civil servants, the taxpayers concerned have not received value added tax repayments equal to or greater than the tax withheld.
§ Mr. Peter ReesCollectors of taxes are refraining from pressing businesses for payment of taxes where they are in financial difficulty as a result of the interruption of VAT refunds. In certain cases this could have resulted in interest charges on overdue amounts. Accordingly a new clause moved by the Government was introduced in the Finance Bill on 14 July. The clause will give businesses exemption from interest on overdue tax where payments of corresponding amounts from Government Departments have been delayed by the Civil Service dispute, except to the extent that payments of non-interest bearing PAYE and NIC liabilities have been withheld.