Hidden economy conditionality - Northern Ireland and Scotland
Applies to Northern Ireland and Scotland
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
The government will introduce legislation in the next Finance Bill to make the renewal of certain licences in Scotland and Northern Ireland conditional on applicants completing checks that confirm they are appropriately registered for tax. The government intends to implement this change from April 2023.
This builds upon legislation introduced by the Finance Act 2021 which introduced a tax check for similar licences in England and Wales from April 2022.
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation seeks views on how to make the renewal of certain licences in Scotland and Northern Ireland conditional on applicants completing checks that confirm they are appropriately registered for tax from April 2023.
In Scotland, these licences are:
- to drive taxis and private hire cars
- to operate private hire car booking offices
- to be a metal dealer
In Northern Ireland, this includes licences to drive taxis.
This consultation sets out the government’s preferred option to introduce the new tax checks designed to tackle the hidden economy, and seeks views from stakeholders on its suitability.
This consultation will be of particular interest to those involved with taxi and metal dealer licensing in Scotland and Northern Ireland including licence applicants, licensing bodies and their representative groups.
Documents
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 November 2021 + show all updates
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Published a summary of responses to the consultation.
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First published.