29/03/2010

In tonight's Television debate, George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, will confirm the announcement this morning that the Conservatives plan to scrap part of Labour's planned increase in tax on jobs.

Robin, who today met with staff and workers at Worcester's MacDonalds to discuss the training opportunities they receive and the jobs can be created there, welcomed the announcement, saying.

"If we want a strong recovery, we need to support business and enterprise. From the beginning I have opposed Labour's crass decision to raise tax on jobs just as we most need businesses to be hiring. Labour hasn't listened to business but I will make sure that a Conservative government will."

"I am delighted that George, who has already been to Worcester to visit local firms, will be announcing this business friendly measure today and that seven out of ten working people in Worcester will be better off under the Conservatives."

What is the job tax?

Labour's planned rise in National Insurance next April will hit anyone earning over £20,000 a year and all jobs over £5,700.

This tax threatens the recovery: leading business experts predict it could cost 57,000 jobs.

What will the Conservatives do differently?

Conservatives will cut waste to stop this tax rise altogether for anyone earning under £35,000 by raising the threshold at which National Insurance kicks in to protect those on lower incomes.

Relative to Labour's plans, everyone earning between about £7,000 and £45,000 will be better off by up to £150 a year. That is 7 out of 10 working people. Nobody will be worse off than under Labour. Thousands of jobs will be protected.

People on lower incomes will gain the most as a proportion of their incomes.

We will also stop most of Labour's tax rise on employers by raising the threshold at which it kicks in.

How can it be done?

To stop Labour's tax on workers next year we will cut waste to make in year savings this year of £6 billion - less than £1 in every £100 that the government spends every year.

Next year we will conduct a spending review to make further savings, on top of measures that we have already announced like a public sector pay freeze excluding the lowest paid 1 million.

Our plans for savings this year are based on advice from Gordon Brown's former advisers on efficiency - Sir Peter Gershon and Dr Martin Read - who are now advising us.

Across all government departments they think that £12 billion of savings can be made in-year without affecting front line services, by halting all major IT spending, renegotiating major contracts, controlling recruitment and cutting out discretionary spending.

In the NHS - our priority - the overseas aid budget and - because we will carry out a strategic defence review - defence, the savings will be ploughed back into the frontline.

That means we will make £6 billion of spending savings from other departments - equivalent to 2.8% of remaining departmental spending.