Ed Davey: Exempt social care from National Insurance tax hike

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Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the government to exempt social care from the employer's National Insurance tax rise.

The Chancellor has provided extra funding for the NHS and other public sector organisations to cover the cost of the tax rise. However, the vast majority of care providers are private and so won't benefit from this help.

98% of care providers – 18,000 organisations – are small employers. The Liberal Democrats have said care providers including care homes and those providing care in people's homes should be exempt from the National Insurance tax hike.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Hammering small businesses with a tax hike is the wrong choice. It will hit people's wages and jobs, but it also risks worsening the NHS crisis by hiking costs for care providers and pushing some to the brink.

“It just shows that yet again the government seems to have forgotten about care. At the very least, the Chancellor should be exempting social care from this costly jobs tax.”

ENDS