Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in devolved administrations on the merger of income tax and national insurance.

Mr David Gauke

The Scotland Bill introduces significant new powers for the Scottish Government to set income tax rates and thresholds. As recommended by the Smith Commission, National Insurance remains a UK wide contributory system.

The Government is committed to simplifying the tax system. We have asked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to look at alignment of income tax and National Insurance. The terms of reference for the OTS review can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/ots-review-of-income-tax-and-national-insurance-tor. The focus is on looking to simplifying the underlying rules in the way the two charges operate which remain a reserved matter.

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