Margaret Thatcher's Confidential Memo: Scrapping National Insurance Would Create 'Many Losers,' Warned Nigel Lawson
A previously undisclosed memo from Nigel Lawson, who served as Margaret Thatcher's tax-cutting chancellor and is cited as an inspiration by current Chancellor Rishi Sunak, advises against merging National Insurance and income tax due to the potential creation of numerous losers, particularly pensioners.
This goes against Sunak's plan to abolish National Insurance.
The Labour party has criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson for disregarding the advice of former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson in a 1986 memo.
The memo, marked secret and discovered in the Margaret Thatcher Foundation archives, was sent to Thatcher before Lawson's third budget and opposed merging income tax and national insurance contributions.
Labour plans to use this information in a new campaign to attract pension-age voters, who currently favor the Conservatives.
The memo states that Lawson considered the idea but ultimately saw little benefit, as it would eliminate the contributory nature of national insurance and negatively impact the elderly.
The text is about a green paper released by Lawson suggesting a change in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and Income Tax.
The proposal is to combine NICs and Income Tax into one single charge.
While this would benefit low earners, it would result in higher taxes for those not currently liable for NICs.
The change would result in a significant shift in the tax burden among different sections of the community.
The Labour party has criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson for disregarding the advice of former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson in a 1986 memo.
The memo, marked secret and discovered in the Margaret Thatcher Foundation archives, was sent to Thatcher before Lawson's third budget and opposed merging income tax and national insurance contributions.
Labour plans to use this information in a new campaign to attract pension-age voters, who currently favor the Conservatives.
The memo states that Lawson considered the idea but ultimately saw little benefit, as it would eliminate the contributory nature of national insurance and negatively impact the elderly.
The text is about a green paper released by Lawson suggesting a change in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and Income Tax.
The proposal is to combine NICs and Income Tax into one single charge.
While this would benefit low earners, it would result in higher taxes for those not currently liable for NICs.
The change would result in a significant shift in the tax burden among different sections of the community.