A planned consultation on options for integrating the operation of income tax and NICs will not be held until after the summer, the government has announced.
A planned consultation on options for integrating the operation of income tax and NICs will not be held until after the summer, the government has announced. The consultation was to be launched soon after the March Budget, building on discussions with stakeholders in two technical working groups.
The government had accepted that there could be winners and losers even in the absence of a full merger of tax and NICs. HM Treasury and HMRC said in the Next steps paper published last November that ‘any reform of NICs to an annual, cumulative and aggregated basis to match the income tax structure could mean a significant number of individuals would end up with a different NICs liability – some could pay more and others less’.
The Treasury said last week: ‘The working groups … identified some challenges with the options explored before the Budget. As many stakeholders have recognised, this is a complex issue with potentially significant implications for employers’ payroll operations.
‘In parallel, the government is looking in more detail at the interplays between options for integration and reforms to the welfare system. This includes the proposal announced at Budget to reform the State Pension into a single tier pension, details of which will be set out in a forthcoming White Paper. Finally, the government also respects that some stakeholders have asked that we avoid consulting on this major issue over the summer months, particularly given the London Olympics.’
The government remained committed to exploring the potential for integration and would provide an update in the autumn, the Treasury said.
A planned consultation on options for integrating the operation of income tax and NICs will not be held until after the summer, the government has announced.
A planned consultation on options for integrating the operation of income tax and NICs will not be held until after the summer, the government has announced. The consultation was to be launched soon after the March Budget, building on discussions with stakeholders in two technical working groups.
The government had accepted that there could be winners and losers even in the absence of a full merger of tax and NICs. HM Treasury and HMRC said in the Next steps paper published last November that ‘any reform of NICs to an annual, cumulative and aggregated basis to match the income tax structure could mean a significant number of individuals would end up with a different NICs liability – some could pay more and others less’.
The Treasury said last week: ‘The working groups … identified some challenges with the options explored before the Budget. As many stakeholders have recognised, this is a complex issue with potentially significant implications for employers’ payroll operations.
‘In parallel, the government is looking in more detail at the interplays between options for integration and reforms to the welfare system. This includes the proposal announced at Budget to reform the State Pension into a single tier pension, details of which will be set out in a forthcoming White Paper. Finally, the government also respects that some stakeholders have asked that we avoid consulting on this major issue over the summer months, particularly given the London Olympics.’
The government remained committed to exploring the potential for integration and would provide an update in the autumn, the Treasury said.
