Johnson: We would raise National Insurance instead
ALAN?Johnson yesterday indicated a Labour government would hike employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) by three per cent instead of increasing VAT.
Labour would need to raise £13.5bn by raising NICs – the same amount that George Osborne’s VAT hike will earn the Treasury annually by 2014-15. It has ruled out any increases in personal taxation, meaning employer NICs would have to rise by three per cent.
Johnson also said the Labour party would have imposed a bonus tax on British banks.
“People will scratch their heads and think ‘Why are we taking less from the banks who are actually at the heart of the global financial crisis?’” he said.
But Justine Greening, the Conservative Treasury minister, said Labour’s “tax on jobs” was not a credible alternative to higher VAT.
She said: “All Labour can do is jump on every passing bandwagon.?The shadow chancellor has no idea how to clean up this economic mess.”