Have your say on National Insurance increase
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WHAT is your view of the 1.25% National Insurance (NI) increase voted through this week by MPs at Westminster?
The tax rise will be introduced by the UK Government from April next year, in the first instance to help the NHS in England clear the backlog created by the Covid pandemic, and from 2023 it will go towards a social care levy.
The increase will apply UK-wide, and be paid by all working adults.
That will see £1.1 billion a year go to the Scottish Government, which has devolved responsibility for health.
The increase will see those earning £10,000 a year paying £57 a year, an increase of £5.
People on a £20,000 salary will pay £1251, an extra £130.
For those on £30,000 a year they will pay an extra £255, rising to £2707 in total.
If you are on a £40,000 salary, you will now pay an extra £380, taking your NI contributions to £4032.
And people earning £50,000 will now pay £5357, an annual increase of £505.
The increase was given the green light after MPs voted 319-248 in favour of it on Wednesday night at Westminster.
Send your views to newsdesk@northern-scot.co.uk or use the link at the end of this story
What the politicians said locally:
Moray MP Douglas Ross (Conservative) said: “I voted for this as it will deliver an extra £1.1 billion of annual funding for Scotland’s NHS and social care services.
“However the nationalist hypocrisy of the SNP was on full show.
“SNP MPs voted against money that could be used to cut down the scandalous waiting times for ambulances, A&E, cancer treatment and in-person GP appointments.
“The SNP refused to welcome it but I’m sure patients and workers on the frontline of Scotland’s NHS and care system will be delighted to hear more funding is on the way.”
However, Moray MSP Richard Lochhead (SNP) described the increase as a "deeply regressive move that will penalise families in Moray and leave those who can least afford it to subsidise the wealthiest in society".
“Families, low paid workers, and young people in Moray are set to be left hundreds of pounds a year worse off at a time when many households are struggling with the rising cost of living. Worse still, this tax hike comes at the same time the Tories are slashing people’s income by over £1000 in cuts to Universal Credit.
“I don’t doubt the need for Westminster to fix the crisis it has created in England, but it should be done in a way that is fair and not through a regressive tax that hits families in Scotland, young people and the least well off the hardest.
“This is just a new poll tax on Scottish families. This is no way to deliver a fair and just recovery from the pandemic.”
