Household Bills
Boris Johnson pledges tax cut for millions of workers
Boris Johnson has pledged to raise the National Insurance threshold to £12,500 if the Conservatives win the election.
Workers currently pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) once they earn an annual income of £8,628.
The move would save low-paid workers £465 a year, the BBC reports.
Speaking at a campaign visit in Teeside today, Johnson promised “low tax for… working people”.
He said: “We are going to be cutting national insurance up to £12,000.
“We are going to be making sure that we cut business rates for small businesses. We are cutting tax for working people.”
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) earlier this year revealed it would cost £3bn for every £1,000 increase to employee and self-employed NICs thresholds.
The report said: “Raising NICs thresholds is the best way to help low earners through the tax system, but most of the benefits go to higher earners, it again narrows the tax base, and it is nowhere near as effective at helping low-earning families as is increasing work allowances in universal credit.”
