Hammond rows back on pledge to ease tax burden for self-employed workers
Chancellor Philip Hammond has abandoned plans to give 3.4m self-employed people a tax break, it emerged earlier today.
In a move to free up £350m for potential extra NHS funding, the Treasury is scrapping a tax cut that would have saved the UK’s self-employed workers an average £134.
The relief had first been revealed in 2015 when former Chancellor George Osborne pledged to abolish Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to benefit self-employed people with profits ranging from £6,205 to £8,424.
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However, yesterday afternoon the government released a statement saying that it is cancelling its planned abolition of Class 2 NICs in a blow to the self-employment sector.
“The self-employed community has been let down tpday, missing out on a promise to reduce their tax burden. This raises serious questions once again about the Government’s commitment to supporting the self-employed,” according to Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses.
Cherry added:“The move is extremely disappointing and flies in the face of tax simplification.”