Dear Listener

One of the things I have always liked about the State Opening of Parliament is that (except in an election year) it is held around November 5th. Guy Fawkes selected that date for what we would now call his terrorist assault on Parliament because everyone who counted, from the King down, would be there.

There is something comforting in the fact that parliamentary tradition goes back more than 400 years to 1605 and beyond. But no more. If the Coalition government gets its way the State Opening will move to ‘the spring’. And I am told that probably means May, so that it is safely after Easter. It is the only sensible way to organise things, a spokesman told me, given the Coalition’s commitment to a fixed term parliament that will end in May 2015. A parliamentary session starting in November just does not fit in with that timetable.

But here’s the financial problem. Civil servants and parliamentary officers are already scurrying around trying to work out how a parliamentary term that begins in May can be fitted in with a tax year that begins on 6 April and a Budget which is normally in March or at the latest a few days after April 6.

The Budget could not end the parliamentary session because it is followed by a Finance Bill which then enacts the Chancellor’s plans. And if it is to wait for Parliament to begin in May then any changes in tax would be announced part way through the tax year. There is an even deeper problem. The Supply Vote is the name for the procedure that gives the Government permission to raise taxes. It has to be renewed each year and without it no tax can be collected from 6 April. Normally the Supply Vote happens immediately after the Budget in March and sets the tax we pay for the following tax year. If the Budget is in May, a temporary supply vote would have to be passed at the end of the parliamentary session and then revised after the May Budget. Which would cause even more reconciliation problems for HM Revenue & Customs.

An official told me that these problems ‘had occurred to people’ and ‘are under consideration.’ They will be discussed as the Bill goes through Parliament to introduce a fixed term parliament.

And talking of HMRC….

***ON MONEY BOX THIS WEEK

…Story one is the Great Tax Debacle. Yes you did read that last week and the week before but we lead again with it – just what concessions were announced on Wednesday and you will hear that famous apology. We also look at plans by HMRC to take even more powers over our money. In future it wants employers to pay our wages to the treasury which will then pass on the net amount after tax. Mmmmm.

We return to the story of Beneficial Claims, the company that said many credit card debts were unenforceable and suggested that people stopped paying what they owe while Beneficial got them declared unenforceable by the lender . We talk to customers who are still waiting for thousands of pounds in fees to be returned after Beneficial’s lawyers wrote to tell them their debts were enforceable after all.

We will also be returning to Keydata and its investments in trading life insurance policies which have lost some customers of Norwich & Peterborough Building Society tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. What is N&P doing to compensate its customers?

And we will run an analytical glass over the latest data on complaints to banks that reach the Financial Ombudsman. In 2009/10 most were upheld. So are the banks doing enough to sort out customer problems in the first instance?

That and a shortish item on a development in child trust funds should take us safely to 12:28:00 when Radio 4 says ‘enough’ and fades us out. So don’t miss the start just after noon on Saturday. But if you do there is always the repeat at nine pm on Sunday, or you can listen any time on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox. There you can also read web pieces, download transcripts, follow links, and send us stories or ideas you want us to look into. And Have Your Say on giving HMRC even more power to take tax off us first.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS don’t forget the programme trail on Breakfast on BBC 1 between 0845 and 0900 on Saturday.

e-mail Paul Lewis