tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156218446024820676.post6656147494547525317..comments2023-05-17T10:38:12.901+00:00Comments on TaxBuzz for the Tax Advice Network: Election tax tease: National Insurance and Income Tax alignmentMark Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11524316185528362603noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156218446024820676.post-38214527481919115322010-04-12T06:37:44.209+00:002010-04-12T06:37:44.209+00:00Is it overly cynical to feel that if NIC and Incom...Is it overly cynical to feel that if NIC and Income Tax were unified, then the government would be robbed of a good avenue for stealth increases?<br /><br />Increases in NICs generally tend to go unnoticed by the working public - or at least are not seen to be as "evil" as "tax increases".<br /><br />There can be no doubt that NI is a tax (ask me about the BBC License fee one day!), but it is marketed as something different. This marketing is further evidenced by the way employer contributions are wrapped up and to some extent hidden from the "average man on the street".<br /><br />Yes, they should be unified - and benefits tied to Income Tax (in my opinion), as long as the net result is a simpler system that is more efficient and thus cheaper to administrate - the only way to keep taxes lower is to spend less pennies collecting each pound.Matt Chatterleyhttp://www.mattchedit.com/Blog.aspxnoreply@blogger.com