Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury has published a Written Statement, outlining delays to a number of consultation deadlines and consultation responses as a result of COVID-19. This includes a delay in the response to the call for Evidence on simplification of the VAT partial exemption and capital goods schemes. The Government will however continue with plans to publish a call for evidence for the fundamental review of Business Rates at some point in the Spring or Summer.

At Budget 2020, the Government published eleven tax policy consultations and calls for evidence. The Government is grateful for the responses to these that have already been received from stakeholders. The Government recognises that many stakeholders are facing significant disruption due to COVID-19. The Government wants to give all stakeholders time to submit their views. Therefore, the deadlines for responses to the following tax policy documents will be extended for three months, to allow stakeholders to engage fully with these documents and to contribute to the tax policy making process. However, the Government encourages early responses from stakeholders where possible, to support its continuing consideration of these issues:

• Plastic Packaging Tax: Policy Design – now closing on 20 August 2020
• Preventing abuse of the R&D tax relief for SMEs: second consultation – now closing on 28 August 2020
• Tackling Construction Industry Scheme abuse – now closing on 28 August 2020
• Notification of uncertain tax treatment by large businesses – now closing on 27 August 2020
• Vehicle Excise Duty: call for evidence – now closing on 3 September 2020
• Call for evidence: raising standards in the tax market – now closing on 28 August 2020
• Consultation on the taxation impacts arising from the withdrawal of LIBOR – now closing on 28 August 2020
• Hybrid and other mismatches – now closing on 29 August 2020
• Tax treatment of asset holding companies in alternative fund structures – now closing on 19 August 2020
• Consultation: HMRC Charter – now closing on 15 August 2020

The EU exit transition period will end on 31 December 2020. The consultation on duty-free and tax-free goods carried by passengers and the informal consultation on the VAT treatment of overseas goods will therefore continue to the existing timetable. This will provide businesses with clarity as early as possible on the policies that will apply from 1 January 2021. It will also give businesses enough time to prepare and ensure the right legislation is in place for 1 January 2021. The Government appreciates that some stakeholders may not be able to respond by the deadline, and where late submissions are received, it will take them into account as far as possible.

On 16 April the Government published a consultation on the Climate Change Agreement scheme extension and reforms for any future scheme. The timetable for this will continue as planned, to ensure the extension of the scheme will be in place by September as announced at Budget 2020, supporting energy intensive businesses to operate in a more environmentally sustainable way.

At Budget 2020, the Government also announced it would publish a number of other tax policy documents. In the light of COVID-19, the Government will consider the publication of these and other expected documents on a case by case basis, taking into account the impact of COVID-19 on stakeholders. The Government will continue to publish the following documents over the Spring and Summer:

• The call for evidence for the fundamental review of Business Rates
• The consultation on further entitlement to use Red Diesel
• The consultation on the design of a carbon emissions tax
• The consultation on National Insurance Contributions holiday for employers of veterans
• A call for evidence as part of the post-EU exit alcohol review
• A summary of responses to the call for evidence on the operation of Insurance Premium Tax
• A summary of responses and government next steps to the Aggregates Levy Review
• HMRC’s Civil information powers
• A summary of responses to the non-UK resident SDLT surcharge consultation
• A summary of responses to the call for evidence on VAT electronic sales suppression
• A review of how VAT works in the public sector

The Government will delay the publication of the following documents until the Autumn:

• A discussion document on the wider application of tax conditionality
• The response to the call for Evidence on simplification of the VAT partial exemption and capital goods schemes
• The consultation on whether qualifying R&D tax credit costs should include investments in data and cloud computing
• The consultation on stronger penalties for tobacco tax evasion

The Government will provide more detail on the publication of the following documents in due course:

• The consultation on aviation tax reform
• The call for evidence on disguised remuneration schemes
• The review of the UK funds regime
• The consultation on the Economic Crime Levy
• The conclusion of the Small Brewers’ Relief Review
• A summary of responses to the call for evidence on Social Investment tax relief

The Government’s position on publication of tax policy documents will be kept updated through the public consultations tracker.