When the Government came to office Britain had one of the least competitive tax systems in Europe. It now has the most competitive. Martin welcomes the Government’s National Insurance Contributions Bill which would see further bureaucracy abolished.
The National Insurance Contributions Bill proposes to:
• simplify the collection of National Insurance Contributions paid by the self-employed
• accelerate the payment to the Exchequer of amounts of National Insurance Contributions in dispute in avoidance cases
• apply new information powers and penalties to high-risk promoters of avoidance
• introduce a Targeted Anti Avoidance Rule to prevent people from circumventing new legislation tackling avoidance involving employment intermediaries and offshore employers.
Martin said: “There are now over 4 million people who are self-employed in the United Kingdom. By moving the collection of Class 2 National Insurance Contributions into self-assessment, this Bill would see benefits for many of the 15 per cent of the UK workforce who are self-employed, cutting the administrative burden on businesses by around £19 million per year.”