As the first of a new parliament this Budget was always expected to be a significant revenue raiser. The Prime Minister’s forewarning that it would be painful only raised those expectations further.
Employers were impacted in the form of a one-two on employers’ NICs with the Chancellor rounding the rate up from 13.8% to a more memorable 15% and cutting the secondary threshold to £5 000 until April 2028. Together this increases the cost of employment by an extra £24bn next year (and each year subsequently) a rise similar in value to the six-percentage point increase in the corporation tax rate under the Conservatives that took effect...
