The problem is that National Insurance has become, over the years, just another form of income tax. Adding complication to the system, ensuring that very few understand what they’re paying and why, which is all the type of smoke and mirrors stuff governments love. If we went back to the original concept of National Insurance as actual insurance, it would all make much more sense. And it was actually Winston Churchill’s idea. He ‘coined the phrase ‘from the Cradle to the Grave’ in 1943 to describe the need for some form of social insurance to give security to every class of citizen in the state’. Who knew?
“Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes”
Why did she/they (in the old sense) think that tinkering around with IHT and CGT would be enough to sort out the NHS; and the potholes; and…and the list goes on. My guess is that they asked the Treasury for a list of anything not involving income tax that they could get away with lightly, although they should already have learned from the winter fuel stuff that all publicity is not good publicity.