Rishi Sunak has raised the national insurance threshold by £3,000 and announced a cut in fuel duty tax by 5p a litre in an attempt to ease the burden of the cost of living crisis.
Unveiling his spring statement in the Commons, the chancellor announced that he is increasing the rate at which workers start paying national insurance to £12,570 to ease the burden on the low paid.
The national insurance threshold will now be in line with income tax from July this year.
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The chancellor had been under pressure to scrap the health and social care levy – effectively an increase in national insurance payments – which involves serious increases in tax payments for most families next month.
Mr Sunak insisted that the levy will stay despite rising inflation rates, but told MPs: “A long-term funding solution for the NHS and social care is not incompatible with reducing taxes on working families.”
Fuel duty cut by 5p a litre until March 2023
Mr Sunak also said a cut in fuel duty of 5p a litre will be in place for a year as petrol costs continue to rise.
He told MPs the move was being made “for only the second time in 20 years”.
Read more: How much a 5p cut in fuel duty saves on filling your tank
On Tuesday, the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was 167.3p, the latest figures from data firm Experian Catalist show – another record high after multiple days of new peaks.
For diesel, the average cost was 179.9p.
Immediately after the chancellor’s announcement, supermarket giant Asda said it will cut fuel prices by 6p a litre this evening.
Rishi Sunak said income tax will be cut from…
Source : skynews
