Tax Minister Fails to Answer Basic Questions on Payment Quango ‘Abolition’ – Guido Fawkes

Tax Minister Fails to Answer Basic Questions on Payment Quango ‘Abolition’

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Tax minister James Murray subjected LBC listeners to a torturous four-minute interview with Nick Ferrari thanks to his inability to answer basic questions on the government’s decision to ‘abolish’ the Payment Systems Regulator. Labour announced last night the PSR’s functions will be moved to the Financial Conduct Authority…

Murray couldn’t say when asked how many people work at the small regulator (165). He couldn’t say what would happen to its employees: “That’s going to be looked at over the summer in terms of the detail” through a consultation. There is no suggestion that companies will no longer have to pay fees towards a payment regulator – last year the PSR collected £27.3 million from firms. So the ‘abolition’ just means companies interacting with a different email address and no money saved…

Meanwhile Labour’s other big red tape announcement this week is the hike of the £1,000 tax-free allowance for trading income to £3,000 – but only by 2029. If the threshold had increased in line with inflation since its imposition in 2017 it would already be £1,310…

Murray claimed he hadn’t “seen” Tory research showing a whopping 27 new quangos have been founded since Labour came to power including the ‘Tree Planting Taskforce’ – co-conspirators can browse the rest below. The trick to deregulation is to abolish more quangos than you found…

See the rest of the new quangos below:

1. Regulatory Innovation Office
2. National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority
3. Great British Energy
4. Mission Control
5. National Energy System Operator
6. Solar Taskforce
7. Border Security Command
8. Jet Zero Taskforce
9. British Infrastructure Taskforce
10. Creative Industries Taskforce
11. Circular Economy Taskforce
12. Tree Planting Taskforce
13. Child Poverty Taskforce
14. Flooding Resilience Taskforce
15. Motor Insurance Taskforce
16. New Towns Taskforce
17. Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce
18. Skills England
19. Industrial Strategy Council
20. Passenger Standards Authority
21. National Jobs and Careers
22. Ethics and Integrity Commissioner
23. House of Commons Modernisation Committee
24. School Support Staff Negotiating Body
25. Independent Football Regulator
26. Fair Work Agency
27. Defence Innovation Agency