Relief for self-employed practitioners as chancellor scraps planned NI rise
Chancellor, Philip Hammond has made a major U-turn on his first budget by scrapping a controversial tax hike on selfemployed workers.
The news will come as a relief to aesthetic practitioners who work for themselves.
The chancellor had planned to increase Class 4 national insurance contributions (paid by those earning over £8,060 a year) to 10% as of April 2018 with a further increase to 11% planned by April 2019.
He claimed the extra taxes would raise £145 million a year by 2021-22, making up the current cost to public finance as a result of lower national insurance contributions from self-employed workers. However, he was forced to reverse the decision as a result of the backlash against the proposals.
The change would have had significant ramifications for those who rent rooms or clinic owners who operate as sole traders.
One potentially positive outcome for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) is that the Government is to give a £300 million fund to local councils to give struggling businesses a discretionary relief, following the recently announced higher business rates.
Hammond said that no business currently exiting small business rate relief will have to pay more than £50 extra a month when the changes come into effect next year.
