So Philip Hammond raised the rate of National Insurance for the self-employed in his first budget. Not only did he break an election pledge but the raise has been defended as “fair”.
Is it fair?
Here’s my opinion.
As an employee, I sign some forms when I join work and hand my employer my National Insurance number and my bank account details. I work and I get paid. The money goes straight in the bank. When I’m sick I get paid. When I go on holiday I get paid. Easy.
As a self-employed person, I am the employee and the employer. I have two roles. The forms I sign as an employee I have to process as an employer. When I’m sick I don’t get paid. When I take a holiday I don’t get paid.
Also, I don’t just show up for work and someone else has brought all the business in, that’s my job. I’m the salesman, the worker and the accountant.
And there’s more.
To get paid I have to raise invoices. I gave to send them to clients and then chase them up. In order to raise and send those invoices, I have to pay for accounting software. I have to spend time invoicing and chasing and when those cheques turn up I have to take them to the bank.
That bank account is a business bank account so I get charged for every single transaction I make. Everything I have to buy for my business has this extra cost burden on it.
Then there are the annual tax returns. Filling in these forms and gathering financial data is something that employed people generally don’t have to do. But what if you’re an employee and self-employed? You have to do ALL of the above.
So tell me, Philip Hammond, Theresa May, taking into account what I have just written, what on earth is “fair” about raising National Insurance for the self-employed?
Personally, I think you got it totally wrong. And I’m really aghast that you even have the gall to defend your wrong decisions. Justifying something that’s unjust is something that I can not and will not agree with. Sorry. And you should be too.
UPDATE: 16th March 2017
This just in from The Daily Telegraph – Theresa May abandons plans to raise National Insurance. I think that’s about right.