A majority of Brits would support a simplification to the tax system which would see National Insurance contributions and Income Tax combined into a single payment, our poll has found.
- 57% of Brits would support a unification of these taxes on employed people
- 22% would oppose such a change
The poll comes just prior to Chancellor George Osborne’s second Budget statement, expected tomorrow. While Osborne will have to answer several questions, including those concerning on-going spending cuts and the Government’s reported ‘£8 billion windfall’, there has also been speculation that the Chancellor will crack down on tax avoidance, as well as introducing measures to simplify the tax and benefits system altogether.
Currently, employed people pay Income Tax and National Insurance separately from their annual wage, and while National Insurance is intended to contribute towards the state pension and other benefits, from the employee’s point of view, both payments are effectively taxes on income. Unifying these payments into a single tax would simplify the system, and bring taxes on self-employed people, who currently pay lower National Insurance contributions, more in line with those paid by all other employees.
