§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the Inland Revenue calculates the personal tax liability for railway status travel passes and staff travelcards issued to former British Rail employees who now work for private railway companies; what estimate he has made of the revenue which will be raised in a full tax year as a result of tax deductions for these travel passes and cards; and what tax deductions were made for these passes and cards when issued by British Rail to its own employees. [19608]
§ Mr. JackEmployees are generally liable to tax on vouchers for free or cheap travel. The taxable benefit is the cost to the employer of providing the voucher. However, there is statutory exemption from the tax charge for British Rail employees earning less than £8,500 per year. This exemption continues for people who were 687W employed by British Rail on 11 January 1994, even if as a result of the Railways Act they are transferred to Railtrack, a train operating company, or certain other successor bodies which are engaged in the railway industry.
No estimate exist of the amounts of revenue raised, now or in the past, in connection with the issue of travel passes and cards.