03:35

UK cuts national insurance contributions for workers in spring budget

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STORY: UK cuts national insurance contributions for workers in spring budget
SHOOTING TIME: March 6, 2024
DATELINE: March 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:35
LOCATION: London
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of UK parliament (UK Parliament TV)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEREMY HUNT, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (UK Parliament TV)
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEREMY HUNT, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (UK Parliament TV)
4. various of London streets and people

STORYLINE:

The United Kingdom's (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday announced in his spring budget that National Insurance contributions would be cut for 27 million British workers.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEREMY HUNT, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
"As from April 6th, employees' National Insurance will be cut by another 2 percent, from 10 percent to 8 percent. And self-employed national insurance will be cut from 8 percent to 6 percent. It means an additional 450 pounds (573 U.S. dollars) a year for the average employee or 350 pounds for someone self-employed.
The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) say, when combined with the autumn reduction, our national insurance cuts will mean the equivalent of 200,000 more people in work -- filling one in five vacancies and adding 0.4 percent to GDP and 0.4 percent to GDP per head."

The move came after a two-percentage-point cut for national insurance from 12 percent to 10 percent in November 2023.

In the Budget, Hunt also raised the child benefit threshold. 

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEREMY HUNT, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
"Along with many others, I confirm that from this April, the High-Income Child Benefit Charge threshold will be raised from 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. And we will raise the top of the taper at which it is withdrawn to 80,000 pounds.
That means no one earning under 60,000 pounds will pay the charge, taking 170,000 families out of paying it altogether. And because of the higher taper and threshold, nearly half a million families with children will save an average of 1,300 pounds next year."

For businesses in the UK, the chancellor announced that the VAT registration threshold would be increased from 85,000 pounds to 90,000 pounds from April 1.

Hunt also extended the alcohol duty freeze to February 2025, to "benefit 38,000 pubs across the UK." The duty freeze was supposed to end this August.

An excise duty on vaping products will be introduced from October 2026, as well as a one-off increase in tobacco duty, said Hunt.

The chancellor also extended the Energy Profits Levy, a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies, for an additional year to 2029. This will raise 1.5 billion pounds, he said.

According to the OBR, UK inflation is expected to fall below the 2 percent target set by the central bank in a few months, Hunt said in his speech.

The OBR has also forecast that the UK economy will grow by 0.8 percent this year and by 1.9 percent next year. (1 pound = 1.28 U.S. dollars)

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from London.
(XHTV)

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