Todayís Budget statement contained no change in the Chancellorís proposal, announced in last Novemberís Pre Budget Report, to increase the main rates of National Insurance Contributions by 0.5% in 2011, which will take the Employer Contribution rate to 13.3 per cent from the current 12.8 per cent.
Nigel May, Tax Principal at MacIntyre Hudson, comments:
ìThe Chancellor has confirmed by his silence that Employersí National Insurance Contributions will rise as planned by 0.5% in April 2011. What happened to the ìBudget for Jobsî? This represents a rise in the nearest our system has to a tax on jobs, planned to come in just as unemployment reaches a new peak somewhere over 3 million.î
A recent survey of small to medium sized businesses by MacIntyre Hudson found the planned increase in Employersí National Insurance Contributions to be overwhelmingly unpopular with the business community, with 94 per cent thinking it will discourage employment at a time when unemployment is likely to be high, and 77 per cent of owner managers going so far as to claim that it will be detrimental to their own business.
Nigel May continued:
ìAll the other measures announced by Mr Darling today to help the unemployed lose credibility when set against his determination to press on with this hike in the tax on jobsî
Budget Comment: What happened to the Budget for Jobs?
Increase in Employersí National Insurance Contributions maintained for April 2011
