Direct Tax and National Insurance Contributions

Baroness Chakrabarti Excerpts

Tuesday 25th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

As I alluded to earlier, the aim is to lower taxes, but we have a lot to contend with as a result of Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine and ongoing energy costs. At the end of the day, we aspire to be a low-tax country.

[Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)]

My Lords, in October 2019, the well-respected Institute for Fiscal Studies said:

“We do not find any evidence that tax-motivated retention of profits translates into more investment in business capital.”


Does the Minister have alternative evidence? If not, how does the present system of taxing the poorest more than the wealthiest match the Government’s conscience?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

I think there are two matters to raise here. It is very important to keep taxes as low as possible to help working people, so that the amount they earn goes further. Equally, it is very important to have policies in place to incentivise businesses—not just those within the UK but those which want to come and invest in the UK.