Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17780 on Employers' Contributions, if she will make an estimate of the (a) median and (b) mean average number of people employed by the employers that she expects will pay (i) the same and (ii) less in employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.Around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 820,000 employers will see no change.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 3 December 2024, Official Report, column 200, what estimate she has made of the (a) median and (b) mean average number of people employed by the subset of employers she expects will pay (i) the same and (ii) less in employer National Insurance contributions under her planned changes.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.Around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 820,000 employers will see no change.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the proportion of employers who will pay (a) the same and (b) less in employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.Around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 820,000 employers will see no change.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases to employer National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024 on (a) employment levels and (b) wages for (i) lower-paid and (ii) higher-paid workers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate of 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.
Employers have a choice about how they respond to the NICs increase. The Government recognises that employers may respond by increasing employees’ wages more slowly than they would have otherwise, alongside absorbing pressures through prices, efficiencies or lower profits.
The Government is protecting the lowest paid by increasing the National Living Wage. This limits the ability of employers to pass on increases in costs to those on lower pay. The Government has also introduced important protections for workers as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) employment and (b) wage-level effects resulting from increases to employer National Insurance Contributions on (i) women and (ii) men.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate of 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.
Employers have a choice about how they respond to the NICs increase. The Government recognises that employers may respond by increasing employees’ wages more slowly than they would have otherwise, alongside absorbing pressures through prices, efficiencies or lower profits.
The Government is protecting the lowest paid by increasing the National Living Wage. This limits the ability of employers to pass on increases in costs to those on lower pay. The Government has also introduced important protections for workers as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed increases to employer national insurance contributions on (a) full-time and (b) part-time workers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate of 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.
Employers have a choice about how they respond to the NICs increase. The Government recognises that employers may respond by increasing employees’ wages more slowly than they would have otherwise, alongside absorbing pressures through prices, efficiencies or lower profits.
The Government is protecting the lowest paid by increasing the National Living Wage. This limits the ability of employers to pass on increases in costs to those on lower pay. The Government has also introduced important protections for workers as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the total revenue to the public purse from increases in employer National Insurance Contributions for (a) GP practices, (b) dental practices, (c) hospices, (d) pharmacies and (e) other organisations contracted to the NHS.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest forecasts for tax revenues were published alongside the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) October Economic and Fiscal Outlook. These forecasts are based on economic determinants, including wage growth and employment levels. The OBR do not forecast NICs receipts at a sector level. Detailed tax receipts forecasts can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – October 2024 - Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her tax policies on the unemployment rate.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 forecast, which takes into account tax measures announced in the Budget, expects the unemployment rate will fall to 4.1% next year and remain low until 2029.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the costs of (a) VAT, (b) employers' National Insurance contributions, (c) employer contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme and (d) business rates for independent schools on the number of children educated in the (i) independent and (ii) state sectors.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective together with comprehensive assessment of the impacts on individuals and families, businesses and the wider economy, equalities impacts, and any other specific area of impact. TIINs look at the impacts of changes to the tax system separately for each measure.
A TIIN assessing the impacts of applying VAT to private school fees has been published online and can be found here: Private school fees — VAT measure - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Details of the changes to business rates charitable rate relief and changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) were outlined at Budget. Notes on the general impacts of these measures will be published in due course alongside the respective legislation when it is introduced to Parliament.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions on (a) cost pressures for independent schools and (b) the number of children leaving the independent school sector; and whether the figures included in HM Revenue & Customs policy paper entitled, Applying VAT to private school fees, published on 30 October 2024, took account of proposed increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective together with comprehensive assessment of the impacts on individuals and families, businesses and the wider economy, equalities impacts, and any other specific area of impact. TIINs look at the impacts of changes to the tax system separately for each measure.
A TIIN assessing the impacts of applying VAT to private school fees has been published online and can be found here: Private school fees — VAT measure - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Details of the changes to business rates charitable rate relief and changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) were outlined at Budget. Notes on the general impacts of these measures will be published in due course alongside the respective legislation when it is introduced to Parliament.