Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 15 September 2021.
Well, you're absolutely right to say that the raising of national insurance contributions does have a differential impact as compared to that which would have been achieved by raising rates of income tax, partly because of the way in which the thresholds sit. So, you start paying your national insurance contributions when you're earning at a lower threshold. And of course income tax does include things like pensions and rental income and other things, which often people who are on the lower end of the economic spectrum aren't able to raise anyway. So, it is not a fair way to raise money for this particular agenda, I believe.
As you say, we don't have those powers here in Wales. We have the three bands, which we are currently maintaining at the same level because, as I say, we don't want to put additional burdens on individuals and families at this point. And we'll certainly keep this approach as long as the economic impact of the coronavirus is felt.