Employer National Insurance Contributions — 4 Dec 2024 at 18:50

That this House regrets that increasing the rate of employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) to 15%, and reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers become liable to pay NICs on employees’ earnings to £5,000, will lead to increased costs for businesses and lower wages for employees, including in particular young people; will force companies to cut employment, leading to some 130,000 job losses according to Bloomberg Economics; will increase costs for retailers by £2.3 billion according to the British Retail Consortium, leading to higher prices for consumers; will create an annual additional bill of £1.4 billion for charitable service providers according to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, so they will struggle to maintain support for vulnerable people; and will increase childcare costs for families; further regrets that the Government has not published its complete assessment of the effect this policy will have on the public and private sector, or indeed any impact assessment; and regrets also that, as a result of the Government’s economic policies, GDP forecasts are down, inflation is up and business confidence is down.

“new partnership with business to boost growth everywhere”.

“Of shoes-and ships-and sealing-wax-

Of cabbages-and kings-

And why the sea is boiling hot-

And whether pigs have wings.”

“Labour will…support business through a stable policy environment”.

“coming back with more borrowing or more taxes.”

“to public sector employers and adult social care”.

“There is no magic money tree.”

“define the character of our country.”-[Official Report, 17 April 2002; Vol. 383, c. 589.]

“Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase National Insurance”.

“To govern is to choose. To appear to be unable to choose is to appear to be unable to govern.”

Debate in Parliament |