On payday Friday, when the National Insurance hike hits pay
packets in full for the first time, Labour Leader slammed the Conservatives’
newly formed ‘cost of living Committee’ for heading off for a
fortnight’s break – despite them having held only one meeting so
far.
Labour also revealed new figures that show during the Tories’ two
week break, households will fork out £1 billion more in tax.
Families have already been hit with record rises in energy,
petrol and food, with the National Insurance hike now adding
further pain for the many millions struggling.
Under the Conservatives, the UK is the only major economy raising
taxes on working people in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
Labour has urged the Conservatives to bring forward an emergency
budget with measures that could be enacted now to make a material
difference to the millions facing the crisis.
Those include a one-off windfall tax to cut home energy bills by
up to £600 and scrapping the National Insurance rise.
, Leader of the Labour Party,
said:
“Under the Conservatives, people are working hard and getting
less.
“It says it all that as squeezed pay packets land in the post
today, the Conservative cost of living committee will clock off.
“With prices soaring and inflation spiralling, the Prime Minister
is choosing to make us the only major economy hiking taxes
working people in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
“It’s time to act, not check out.
“Labour has put forward sensible, costed, practical measures that
would give immediate help to working people up and down the
country.
“The government should hold an emergency budget to enact them,
and address the yawning chasm left by the spring statement.
“Britain deserves better.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The Tories cost of living Committee is taking a
two week holiday – in the meantime, working people will pay £1
billion more in tax.
2. The Office for Budget Responsibility Table 3.2
forecast that the proportion of GDP paid in Income Tax, National
Insurance and VAT will rise by 0.96 percentage points of GDP
between 2021/22 and this year, 2022/23.
3. As the OBR forecast GDP to be £2,513bn in
2022/23, that means we will be paying £24bn more in Income Tax,
National Insurance and VAT this year.
4. That is £464m per week, or £928m per fortnight:
https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2022/.
5. The rise in the personal tax burden is equivalent
to over £460 million a week per household over the course of
2022-23.
6. This means that in the next two weeks households
will be forking out nearly £1 billion more due to the Tories tax
rises.
7. Labour has called for the government to bring
forward an emergency budget and include five measures within it:
· Put a
windfall tax on oil and gas producers to cut home energy
bills: Bring in a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas
producer profits, to cut household bills by up to £600, including
through a VAT cut on home energy bills and an increase and
expansion of the Warm Homes Discount.
· Provide
support for struggling businesses: Labour would cut
taxes for businesses by giving SMEs a discount on their business
rates bill worth up to £5,700 this year, funded by a tax on the
online giants. We’d also bring in a £600 million contingency
fund, raised by the windfall tax on oil and gas producer profits,
for those industries and businesses struggling the most with
rising bills like steel and other energy-intensive firms.
· Spike
the hike: Scrap the National Insurance hike which this
government has introduced in the midst of a cost of living
crisis.
·
Insulate homes: Commit to a rapid ramp up of
home upgrades with a clear target to meet by the end of the year,
to make them more energy efficient and cheaper to heat, saving
households £400 on average every year.
· Stop
the waste: Allow the National Crime Agency to
investigate the £11.8 billion of taxpayer funds lost to fraud and
error, so no more taxpayer money is flushed down the drain.
