TAX CREDITS AND MIGRATION

Early day motion 1117, tabled 26 February 2014 by John Hemming (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 4 members.

That this House notes that HM Revenue and Customs states that it does not hold information as to the amount of tax credits paid to people by nationality; recognises that this means that the Government does not have the information to identify whether loopholes in the rules relating to self-employment and tax credits are being abused to circumvent the rules relating to habitual residency; further notes that there is considerable anecdotal evidence that essentially spurious self-employment schemes are being established by recent migrants in order to qualify for in-work benefits which would not be available were habitual residency rules to apply; believes that the Government should aim to keep sufficient information to manage the tax and benefits system; and calls for the Government to modify the databases to ensure this information is recorded in the future.

Signatures by party: Liberal Democrat 3, Labour 1.