Really?

I must admit I had missed it up to now but the Tory party manifesto includes a promise to abolish National Insurance for the self employed. Why?

For a start this is a huge tax cut of I think 6% for the self employed who already pay less tax than salaried workers, why would you want to open up such a huge gap between forms of employment. The Tory party says it is to encourage entrepreneurship, but this is not encouragement it is a huge distorting tax cut, not much of an incentive to create new business but a great one to dodge tax.

It is also expensive and gives most to the wealthiest and most importantly it means that the self employed will get all the benefits of the welfare state, including a pension and free health care for nothing. Just think about that.

The pension alone is staggering, a free pension after a life time of making no contributions at all. Why the hell are salaried staff paying for the free pensions of the self employed? Why do they get a free pension, on top of lower, much lower taxation?

Then they get free health care for life too, and all the other elements of the welfare state, for free. Who is going to pay for all those freebies and the lower tax, well their neighbours, obviously.

It is one of the stupidest policies I have ever heard of, it distorts the economy, is totally unfair and unsustainable. But it might, just might get some very selfish and uncaring people to make themselves self employed rather than salaried staff, the incentives will be huge for anyone who can do that.

Then all the Tories will have to do is abolish IR35, which stops you claiming to be self employed when you work for only one company, and the whole tax system collapses, along with the NHS and the state pension.

Unaffordable Dear chap, awfully sorry.

Jonty’s Jottings

Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.

By Jonty Bloom Media