Alastair Darling defends his national insurance increase
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling has today again defended his move to increase national insurance in 2011. This comes after the Conservative party announced a partial U-turn on the proposed increase by the Labour Party with those earning less than £45,400 a year to be protected from an increase in national insurance tax. The Labour Party has hit back with suggestions that the Conservatives are putting the economic recovery at risk although the Conservative party has claimed that the increase is actually a tax on jobs in the UK.
In a situation which is very difficult for the average UK citizen to understand, and seemingly bizarre, Alastair Darling has pinpointed a similar national insurance increase back in 2002 which he believes actually led to an increase in jobs. It is bizarre in the extreme to understand how an increase in the cost of operating a business can in any way increase the likelihood of new jobs being created especially against this background of economic turmoil.
There is no doubt that the economy and taxation will be very important in the run up to the next general election with UK consumers and UK businesses concerned about the state of the UK finances and the state of the economy as a whole.
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