§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will calculate the cost to public funds of diverting unclaimed tax credits from the landfill tax, not taken for environmental projects, to other environmental research. [50653]
§ Dawn PrimaroloUnder the landfill tax environmental bodies credit scheme, registered persons who make contributions to approved environmental bodies may claim a credit of landfill tax of 90 per cent. of their contribution, up to a total of 20 per cent. of their annual landfill tax liability. If registered persons choose not to make contributions up to the maximum for which they can claim credit, there is no provision for the Government to allocate the unclaimed credit to other environmental research. The additional cost of such a scheme would vary according to the amount of unclaimed tax credit in any one year.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Customs and Excise received from the landfill tax in the first year of its operation; and how much of the 20 per cent. reserved for environmental projects under the Environmental Trust was used for this purpose. [50650]
§ Dawn PrimaroloPersons registered for landfill tax may claim tax credits of 90 per cent. against contributions made to approved environmental bodies, up to a total of 20 per cent. of their annual tax liability, in each "contribution year". Contribution years are aligned with registered persons' landfill tax accounting periods, and do not necessarily coincide with the financial year. Credits claimed relating to the first contribution year amounted to £69 million. In the same period (1 October 1996 to 30 September 1997), total landfill tax revenue gross of claims to environmental bodies credits was £396 million, giving rise to a maximum credit that could have been claimed of £79 million. Therefore, some 77 per cent. of available credits were taken up.