Local Lib Dem MP slams jobs tax with employees in Torbay facing financial hit of nearly £2,172

Local Lib Dem MP slams jobs tax with employees in Torbay facing financial hit of nearly £2,172 

The rise in employers’ National Insurance has come into effect with employees in Torbay facing an estimated hit of almost £2,172 in total by the end of the decade, as the jobs tax gets passed down to them as lower real wages, Liberal Democrat research has found.

At the Spring Statement, the OBR reported that 76% of the rise in employers' national insurance would be passed down to workers through lower real wages. 

The research by the Liberal Democrats has found that this means on average an employee in Torbay would be worse off by roughly £2,172 by the end of the decade, with workers experiencing a hit of nearly £348 in the next year on average.

Local Liberal Democrat MP, Steve Darling, says that high streets could be “on the brink” following the tax hike. They said the Chancellor “must immediately scrap her jobs tax” and are calling on the Chancellor to overhaul the “broken” business rates system to unleash growth in the local area. 

Steve added:

“The Chancellor’s jobs tax is setting already stretched household finances up for another battering right in the middle of a cost of living crisis. After years of Conservative economic vandalism, this Labour government is now risking a spate of boarded up shop fronts on our much loved high streets, leaving local businesses on the brink of closure.

"The Government cannot go on pretending that their jobs tax won’t hit people’s pockets. Our town centres and hard-working business owners will bear the brunt of this crushing decision.

“The Chancellor must immediately scrap her jobs tax and overhaul the broken business rates system. This is the only way to unleash the massive growth potential of Torbay’s high streets and protect local household finances.”