Ross red-faced as Chancellor set to ignore pleas
JEREMY Hunt looks set to unveil a 2p cut to National Insurance as he uses the Budget to try to win back voters ahead of this year’s expected General Election.
The Chancellor is widely reported to have decided to cut National Insurance rather than taking the more expensive option of a 2p reduction in income tax.
The move comes as he attempts to both revive the economy and address an opinion poll deficit which suggests Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party is on course to be ousted at the election.
Downing Street would not be drawn on the prospect of a cut to National Insurance, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson saying: “I’m not going to get drawn on any of the Budget speculation.”
Treasury sources also refused to comment ahead of the Chancellor’s statement today.
But The Times reported that the cut, worth £450 on average, would come in from April and the decision was taken after Hunt decided against reducing income tax.
DOUGLAS Ross’s pleas not to extend the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas have reportedly been snubbed as the Chancellor looks to raid energy giants’ profits to fund tax cuts.
Lobbying by the Scottish Conservative leader appears to have fallen on deaf ears in the Treasury amid reports Jeremy Hunt will maintain the Energy Profits Levy to fund a 2% cut to National Insurance for millions of workers.
Hunt’s plans to cut National Insurance will be worth £450 to the average worker, according to reports in both The Times and Sky News.
It will leave Ross red-faced after he told journalists at the Scottish Conservatives’ party conference at the weekend that he was lobbying the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho about the Budget, The Herald reported.
Asked about a possible extension of the windfall tax, Ross said it would be an “unacceptable blow” to employers and workers in the north-east. He added he was “strenuously” making that case to the UK Government. Hunt is set to unveil his Budget today and appears almost certain to announce a National Insurance cut.
He will argue doing so will be worth £900 in total for the average worker when combined with the 2% cut that was announced in the Autumn Statement last year.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has significantly downgraded the amount of “fiscal headroom” available for tax cuts or spending photographed shaking hands with Hunt in the Private Audience Room of the royal residence.
The King is continuing with his official duties as he is treated for cancer.
Trade minister Greg Hands insisted the UK is seeing “economic better times coming up” and the Budget will reflect that, despite warnings of real-terms cuts to NHS funding in the coming financial year.
A responsible Budget would involve giving people “a bit of a tax break this year” and “still keeping a record amount of funding into public commitments. The independent spending watchdog said the Chancellor had £12.8 billion to work with – down from a previous prediction of £30bn.
Hunt is also expected to freeze fuel duty again, which will cost about £5bn. This package is expected to be funded by the windfall tax extension, a new levy on vaping and an additional rise in tobacco duty, The Times reported.
The SNP have called for a £15bn boost to NHS funding, as well as a major green investment programme of £28bn per year and a package of