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Written question asked by Andrew Mackinlay (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 May 2007. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Thursday, 10 May 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Italy: Diplomatic Service

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much income tax or money in lieu of income tax was collected in respect of (a) UK citizens and (b) non-UK citizens who were locally engaged staff in the British Council in Italy in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; what value of these deductions was (i) remitted to the Italian tax authorities, (ii) remitted to HM Revenue and Customs, (iii) retained by the British Council in Rome and (iv) remitted to London and retained by her Department in each year; and if she will make a statement.
Answer

Locally-engaged staff of the British Council in Italy are contracted on local terms.UK citizens and non-UK citizens who have been locally-engaged by the British Council in Italy have always paid income tax to the local authorities in line with the requirements of Italian law. No money in lieu of income tax was collected by the British Council in respect of staff who were locally engaged by the British Council in Italy.The following income tax payments were remitted to the Italian authorities:

€
1999 351,199.80
2000 407,006.10
2001 360,534.00
2002 392,345.00
2003 342,681.00
2004 382,444.00
2005 516,404.00
2006 621,416.00

Accurate information has been provided on the actual amounts of personal income tax paid on behalf of locally-engaged staff for the last seven years. In the limited time available to retrieve this data, in some cases from the tax authorities themselves, it has not been possible to disaggregate the data into UK and non-UK citizens, not the least because financial data does not differentiate by nationality, but rather by contract type.All deductions were consistent with Italian law and have been remitted to the Italian tax authorities for at least the last 10 years:"the employment of all staff who are locally-engaged by the British Council in Italy falls under Italian jurisdiction. There is therefore no question of money being remitted to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;""all money collected as income tax for locally-engaged UK and non-UK citizens was paid to the local authorities in line with the requirements of Italian law. None was retained by the British Council in Rome; and""no money collected as income tax for locally-engaged UK and non-UK citizens employed in Italy was remitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London."

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
136261; 460 c396-7W
Session
2006-07
Subjects
Diplomatic service Taxation Italy British Council
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk