§ Mr. Terry Walkerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why there is a delay in issuing tax certificate No. 714C required under the Finance (No. 2) Act 1975 from the Bristol tax office.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI understand that, because of staff illness, there was a delay in issuing some C certificates at one of the Bristol tax offices, but that they have all now been issued.
§ Mr. Copeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has any plans to combat the unemployment which will be caused by the refusal of a No. 714 40W certificate to firms like Messrs. A. Bailey and Sons;
(2) why he is refusing No. 714 certificates to firms like Messrs. A. Bailey and Sons who are not labour only subcontractors, but cannot operate without such a certificate.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 644–5], gave the following information:
I wrote to the hon. Member on 23rd March about this case. The rules of confidentiality do not allow me to make public information about the tax affairs of individual businesses. A certificate is refused where the applicant fails to meet the conditions laid down in Schedule 12 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 1975. I do not think that any special plans are needed to deal with the effect of such refusals on employment.
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many independent building trade workers have to date been granted the No. 714 tax exemption certificate; how many have been refused certificates; and how many applications are being processed at the present time.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 645], gave the following information:
At the latest count, on 11th March 1977, a total of 294,774 applications had been received from individuals, partnerships and companies, of which 26,081 had been refused and 220,160 had been approved. As regards the balance which were outstanding, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) on 10th March 1977.—[Vol. 927, c. 647–8.]—The proportion of these figures which relates to individuals trading on their own account could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why a No. 714 certificate has not been sent to Mr. E. Southern of 8 Ley Orchard, Willersey, Gloucestershire, although he has been informed that he is to receive one.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th March 1977; 41W Vol. 928, c. 718], gave the following information:
These certificates are prepared by security processes and cannot, therefore, be issued immediately the application is approved.