Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:17 pm on 16 July 2019.
Thank you. As the Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has said, it's not anticipated that either of these areas of amendment would have a significant impact on tax revenue. It is, however, hoped that the amendments would make the administration of landfill disposals tax easier and fairer, and therefore have a positive impact on the tax risk work of the WRA in these areas.
For the relief for refilling opencast mines and quarries, we don't anticipate this change benefiting any sites other than those currently claiming quarry relief. And this change is more to ensure legislation and practice are aligned in terms of the material going into the quarry. Our amended legislation will align with the current HMRC position, and therefore we'd expect a minimal impact on revenue.
And the change to the definition of 'site restoration work' will mean that inert sites in Wales may be able to claim site restoration relief, even if they do not have a cap. Many of those sites would have been able to claim quarry relief on most of the restoration work in any event, so this offsets the potential revenue impact.
I thank the committee for its work and, although simple, these regulations seek to ensure that the legislation is practically workable and gives a fair and consistent result to landfill site operators.