British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday that he would raise taxes to pay for the care of the elderly and disabled, breaking major election promises.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Johnson announced a new health and social welfare tax of 1.25 percent across the UK, based on national insurance contributions.
The move is also controversial in his own party as it violates Johnson’s personal promise not to raise income tax, VAT, or national insurance in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto. increase.
Johnson spoke at the House of Commons, stating that additional income is needed to help the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) recover from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.
“We must now help the NHS recover and be able to provide this coveted care to our members and those we love. We do so now. We have to fund it, “he said.
The prime minister said he accepted that his plan broke his 2019 election manifesto pledge, but blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a change in approach.
“The conservative government has never wanted a tax increase,” he told MP. “But there was no pandemic in anyone’s manifesto.”
“We can never claim that the Tories are a low-tax party,” said Kiel Starmer, the leader of the opposition’s main Labor Party, for breaking the promises of the Prime Minister and the Conservatives.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic think tank, said this year was “a big year for tax increases.” He said the rise was permanent and “reflected the long-term costs of aging from health and social care.”
The new tax hike has received strong criticism from corporate groups and free market supporters.
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) said companies are “strongly opposed” to increasing national insurance contributions.
Suren Thiru, BCC’s Head of Economics, said: The statement was emailed to the Epoch Times.
John McDonald, head of government affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, called it “probably a historic betrayal from a conservative government.”
He said it was “morally bankrupt,” he said, “a tooth kick for all the young working people in this country who are already struggling with a pandemic.”
Professor Ren Shackleton, a fellow at the Institute of Economic Research, urged the government to rethink and “keep away from accepting unlimited promises by taxpayers.”
“Families with many capitals at risk from the long-term need for social care insure rather than look at (often much poorer) workers to support them. You should be responsible, “he said.
PA contributed to this report.
