It is a good point about charities - people with the means should bear in mind the extra pressure they will be under at the moment and adjust their support accordingly.I can't accept the current government are unaware of the consequences of the NIC rise and they obviously felt that this was the best of a series of unpalatable choices. They boxed themselves in by making commitments on the general rate of tax but they had to raise revenue. As has been pointed out before it does at least have the advantage of raising funds from multinational companies who manage to wriggle out of paying corporation tax.Given that borrowing is still rising, if the markets perceived weakness on the fiscal front, interest rates would have risen and a different set of people would be experiencing hardship.The longer term solution would be to do away with NI altogether and incorporate it into income tax. However, because of the anti-incumbent trend in elections globally, nobody is getting elected by proposing realistic reforms.
Francis Rowe ● 13d