Those earning £100,000 a year in the UK will be least affected by the 1.25 percent increase in National Insurance from April 2022, new research can reveal.
It come as No 10 has sought to dismiss reports that Boris Johnson is “wobbling” over increasing National Insurance, saying the Government is “fully committed” to introducing the tax rise in the spring.
The Prime Minister is under pressure from some Conservative MPs to scrap or at least delay the increase to win back support as he awaits the findings of Whitehall and police inquiries into claims of lockdown-busting parties held in Downing Street.
The Times cited a Government source as saying Mr Johnson is “wobbling” over the rise, which is designed to tackle the Covid-induced NHS backlog and reform social care, with the newspaper suggesting he is considering delaying the policy for 12 months to appease critics on the right of the party.
While the National Insurance spike will see people earning £30,000 (the average wage in the UK) devote nine percent of their yearly salary to National Insurance, and those on £50,000 give away ten percent of their earnings, people on an affluent salary of £100,000 will see just seven percent of their wages go on National Insurance.
This means that people on £30,000 a year will devote 28 percent more of their earnings to NI than someone on £100,000, despite the person of £100,000 a year earning considerably more. A worker earning £50,000 a year will pay 42 percent more to NI than a person on £100,000 a year, despite earning half as much.
The research, by Income Tax Calculator UK, analysed how much National Insurance (taking into account the 1.25 percent increase in April) people earning between £20,000 to £100,000 a year would pay in in 2022, to discover what percentage of each worker’s salary would go to NI.
Workers on £50,000 a year are most affected by the soaring National Insurance payments, with earners set to devote 10 percent of their salary to National Insurance in 2022 – the highest of any worker. In comparison, people on £80,000 a year will see just 8 percent of their salary go to National Insurance.
This means that workers on £50,000 a year will pay 25 percent more than earners on £80,000 to National Insurance, and workers on £30,000 will pay 12 percent more than those on £80,000.
A spokesperson for Income Tax Calculator UK commented on the findings:
“The increase in National Insurance will have a huge effect on workers’ earnings in 2022, especially given soaring energy bills and the fact that inflation is at its highest point in 30 years. This data gives us a compelling insight into the fact that lower and average earners will be significantly more squeezed by the National Insurance hike than those at the very top. People earning some of the highest salaries in the country, for example, workers on £100,000 a year are set to pay the same percentage of their salary to NI as a person on £20,000 in 2022, despite earning five times as much, while those earning the average wage of £30,000 will see as much as 9 percent of their salary swallowed by NI”
Related: Tory who said Boris was ‘ambushed with cake’ now claims there was no cake