Johnson promises National Insurance cut as he attempts to get business back on side
BORIS JOHNSON will promise to cut employers’ National Insurance contributions and three other taxes on companies as he lays out the Tories’ credentials as the party of business.
The Prime Minister will make a major election pledge to reduce business rates and taxes holding firms back in a speech to the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry.
It comes after Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI’S director general, warned that Labour’s election proposals could “crack the foundations of our economy”.
Ms Fairbairn said Labour’s sweeping nationalisation plans would “freeze investment” in the UK because company chiefs “are already thinking ‘maybe we’re next’”, and suggested the party did not “value” the contribution to the economy of private enterprise.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have set out how tighter rules on immigration would result in a £1.3 billion saving to the public purse each year – more than the cost of tax cuts for business.
Mr Johnson will try to heal the rift between the Government and the corporate world over Brexit by telling the CBI conference in London: “Let’s not beat around the bush, big business didn’t want Brexit.”
But he will also say that what businesses want more than anything is clarity, which will only be achieved by getting on with leaving the EU.
The issue of who voters trust more with the economy will be a key election battleground. Mr Johnson will pledge to cut Class 1 National Insurance contributions for small businesses by £1,000 per year, which the Tories say would benefit half a million small firms.
Employers pay NI contributions of 13.8 per cent of salary for almost all workers who earn more than £166 per week, but small businesses are exempt from the first £3,000 of total bills, which would be increased to £4,000 per year under the Tories’ plans.
Mr Johnson, who repeatedly argues that tax cuts in the right places result in a higher tax yield for the exchequer by enabling the economy to grow, will promise a “fundamental review” of
Boris Johnson faced fresh questions last night about the nature of his relationship with businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri after she told him: “I’ve kept your secrets.”
An ITV documentary about the Prime Minister’s dealings with the American alleged last night that they had a four-year affair. Mr Johnson has denied there was a conflict of interest arising over his friendship with the former model, 34. A Tory spokesman said: “Any claims of impropriety in office are untrue and unfounded.”