argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker The right hon. Gentleman does not believe in fiscal neutrality—that is a fact. He believes in borrowing £500 billion of additional money, and saddling our children and our grandchildren with that debt. However, I very much take my right hon. Friend’s advice on maintaining fiscal neutrality and dealing with the structural issue that underlies this statement.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is right. As I have said, there is, as the economy changes shape, an increasing tendency for employers, in effect to drive people out of employment and into what is thinly disguised self-employment. That is one of the issues that Matthew Taylor is looking at in his review. I have had the opportunity to have a preliminary meeting with him. We are very much looking forward to receiving his report in due course, and we will respond to it.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly, that is the story the hon. Lady would like to believe, but, unfortunately, it is not true. As Members would expect, I have been discussing the Budget and these issues with the Prime Minister since last Wednesday, just as I have discussed them with many colleagues over the weekend, and we have had several meetings over the last few days. The final decision to make this announcement to the House was made this morning—just after 8 o’clock—and I have come here at the earliest reasonable opportunity to inform the House.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Matthew James Offord (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the Chancellor for coming to the House today. He is entirely correct to assert that the National Insurance Contributions (Rate Ceilings) Act 2015 applied only to class 1 contributions. I do not recall Labour’s Treasury Front Benchers at the time ever mentioning any other contributions. Once again, I thank him for coming here, because he is a listening Chancellor who will continue to listen to those on the Conservative Benches—the sensible side of the House—unlike some previous Labour Chancellors who not only did not listen to anyone but brought the economy to its knees.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): May I thank my right hon. Friend for his wisdom in being open to changing his mind, which shows the serious-mindedness of Her Majesty’s Government; and for his propriety in telling this House first and doing it himself, not sending someone else on his behalf? May I also commend him for his singular achievement of converting a number of desiccated socialists to support for lower taxation?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I did say that, but let me be clear: I think that Laura Kuenssberg was the first person after I spoke to raise the issue outside. The Government have always been clear, as I said on Wednesday evening and on Thursday, many times, and the Prime Minister said on Thursday evening, that we have always regarded the legislated tax locks as being the commitment we were working to. Our whole approach in the Treasury—all the work we do—is based around the tax locks that are in place. I accept, however, that there is a gap between the specific tax locks that were legislated and the wording that was used in the manifesto. We have today accepted that the more expansive interpretation should be the one that prevails, and that is why I have made the statement that I have.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Neil Carmichael (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly welcome this statement because it underlines very strongly the case for fairness and also salutes the important work that self-employed people do. Does the Chancellor of the Exchequer agree that if we enter a period of turbulence for whatever reason, it is fundamentally necessary to have a strong fiscal basis, and that is what he is achieving through acting in this way?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said in the Budget speech and previously in the autumn statement, we are seeking to do three things: to keep Britain on track for balancing the budget as early as possible in the next Parliament through fiscal discipline; to invest in Britain’s future to raise our productivity and ensure a decent standard of living for everybody across this country, on which we made further steps in this Budget by investing in skills; and to ensure that we have enough fiscal headroom in our fiscal position to allow for any events that arise over the coming years. We need the ability to manoeuvre as we go through what will be a period of unusual uncertainty in the planning of our economy.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I have set out our long-term plan. The hon. Gentleman knows the fiscal figures, because they were published last week. As I have said, I do not resile at all from the commitment that I have made that we will, overall, be broadly fiscally neutral. I will introduce additional measures—[Interruption.] Well, it would not be appropriate for me to do so today, but I will bring forward additional measures in the autumn Budget to address the cost of the changes that I have announced today. By the way, if I could just give him a piece of advice, before he goes in too hard on keeping manifesto promises, he might just want to check his own party’s record in government on that particular score.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): On behalf of the 9,000 self-employed people in St Austell and Newquay, may I thank the Chancellor for his statement today and for being willing to listen to the sensible voices of Conservative Members and the business community in making this change? Will he confirm that there is absolutely nothing wrong in someone legitimately choosing to be self-employed and in charge of their own work destiny, and that this party will always be on the side of the entrepreneurs, who are the heart of our economy?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Gentleman will know, this Government have introduced a raft of measures over the years to target the avoidance of tax by large corporations, and we have raised a very substantial amount of additional tax—well over £100 billion—through those measures. The VAT flat rate scheme, which he mentioned, was introduced to assist the smallest businesses, but it had been turned into a systematic route for abuse, and I am afraid that we had to deal with it to make sure that the tax base was not eroded. However, we will always seek to support the genuinely self-employed hard-working people who are the backbone of this country’s economy.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): On behalf of all the hard-working self-employed people in Wiltshire, I thank the Chancellor for his announcement today and welcome it. The introduction of a new state pension marks a significant increase in retirement provision for the self-employed, but without any auto-enrolment scheme, they still do not have parity on pensions. Will the Chancellor please remember that and look at it?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. As we have now cast more widely our review of the differences in how employees and the self-employed are treated, it is right that we should look at that particular aspect as well, and we will do so.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Neither. We understand the commitment that we made to have been discharged by the passage through the House of the National Insurance Contributions (Rate Ceilings) Act 2015, which set out very clearly the scope that the then Chancellor decided to apply to the national insurance contributions lock. That is how the Treasury has worked since 2015, with the locks and ring-fences that were put in place. They are part of the everyday workings of the Treasury, and that was what we worked to in this case. However, I have accepted today that there is a broader interpretation—based on the manifesto itself, not the legislation that implemented it—and that is why I have come to the House and made this statement.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on listening to the self-employed and to representations from Conservative Members in particular. Will he confirm that the announcements he has made today about the abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions and their transfer to class 4 contributions mean, in effect, that every single self-employed person in this country will experience a tax cut over the next two years?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. It will not be over the next two years, but in one go, with a tax cut of about £130 a year in April 2018. That is because class 2 is a regressive tax—it is a flat-rate reduction for everybody who is self-employed, regardless of the level of their income.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): We have already addressed the concerns of women affected by the change in pension age. Of course I am aware of the residual concerns being expressed by that group of people, and we hear those concerns, but we have addressed the principal issue.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter William Bone (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much welcome the Chancellor’s statement. In Wellingborough, we had a parliamentary meeting on Saturday morning, when the view on the general principle in the manifesto was mentioned. Will he look to the future, however? He may be able to narrow the difference between the employed and the self-employed by reducing the contribution that the employed make, so will he do that from the Brexit dividend?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Because those representations were not made before the statement. In fact, as the hon. Gentleman will remember, there was quite a lot of speculation in the media in the week before the Budget about a possible increase in class 4 national insurance contributions, but I did not see any reference to the manifesto in any of those media discussions. We believe that the National Insurance Contributions (Rate Ceilings) Act put into law the lock that we put in place, and I did not hear anybody suggest anything to the contrary during the press speculation in the week before the Budget.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to add my congratulations to the Chancellor on his announcement. Self-employment is key to our economy and to the people of Derby. We have many great examples of successful and thriving businesses, thanks to the ongoing polices of this Government. Will my right hon. Friend assure me, however, that he will look at all the ways in which he can encourage the continued growth of those essential businesses?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I have explained to the House what happened and what the view is inside Government about the tax locks that we put in place. The hon. Gentleman is entitled to his opinion and he has expressed it.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nigel John Mills (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Chancellor for his change of mind today. I urge him to carry on with some parts of the proposal, namely considering how we can ensure that the very highest earners, who tend to be self-employed, pay the right amount of tax, including partners in limited liability partnerships, who have the advantages of limited liability and of not paying national insurance.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I have made my position quite clear. I have distinguished between the two issues. On the substance of the issue, it is absolutely right to address the discrepancy, which is no longer justified by the difference in access to benefits. However, it is also right that we accept the wider interpretation of the manifesto commitment that my hon. Friends have expressed to me. That is why we have said that we will continue to review the issue in the round and will come back to Parliament with our decisions arising from the review, but we will not increase national insurance contributions in this Parliament.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I have made it clear that there will be no increase in national insurance contributions during the remainder of this Parliament. As I have said, I am not setting out today the Conservative manifesto for the next general election. I am making a commitment for this Parliament, and I hope the House will be satisfied with that.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. First we will respond to Matthew Taylor’s report, which looks more widely at employment rights in a rapidly changing economy. We will look at parental benefits, which are the principal area where there is still a discrepancy in what is available for the self-employed and the employed. There are other relatively minor areas, but we will look at all of them and seek to, as it were, audit the differences in treatment between the employed and self-employed. The House and people outside will then be able to see in the round the difference in access to benefits and entitlements and the difference in contributions, and form a judgment about how we should move forward.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: International Affairs
Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his wise and dignified statement today, and thank him for it. Conservative Members understand that we have to live within our means. Is it not time to look at the overseas aid budget and the figure of 0.7% of GDP? I suggest that if we need some money, that is an area we should look at.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes; as the hon. Gentleman alluded to, there are specific issues in Northern Ireland, where the public sector still occupies a dominant role in the economy. Of course, we all share the objective of increasing the share of the private sector in the Northern Ireland economy. Small businesses can play an important role in that. The lessons of this review will be generally applicable across the United Kingdom, but they will certainly play an important role in Northern Ireland.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Ben Howlett (Conservative, Centre-right): Although it might not be palatable to Opposition Members, as somebody who was self-employed for many years before entering this place, I think the Chancellor was absolutely right last week to make his announcement and rebalance the tax base, as more self-employed people enter the jobs market. He was also right to listen to the comments of Government Members. I appreciate that my right hon. Friend does not want to make comments about the next manifesto, but does he agree that we should look at proposals to effectively scrap this very outdated tax and merge it into a single tax, which would be an awful lot more progressive?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will probably know, ideas about merging the tax and national insurance systems have been around for longer than I have. Although it is a superficially attractive proposition, it is fraught with practical difficulties. The Office of Tax Simplification looked at it recently, and I am sure my hon. Friend will have read its report. I say to the House that all matters relating to tax are kept continually under review at every fiscal event.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): There is a soft hypothecation around national insurance contributions: 20% of the fund goes to the national health service. They fund the state pension to which self-employed people now have full access for the first time—an extraordinary enhancement in the entitlement. I am told that, for a 45-year-old man, the enhanced pension in retirement, £1,800 or more a year, would cost about £50,000 as a capital sum to purchase an annuity in the marketplace. That is an extraordinary expansion of the entitlement offered to the self-employed.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady might also have remarked that £2 billion was the amount we put into social care funding in the Budget last week, alongside additional capital for the NHS, investment in schools and investment in skills. [Interruption.] Not enough, she says. I understand why she says that, because the shadow Chancellor tells her, "You can borrow for everything you want to do. Don’t worry, the kids will pick up the tab."
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
David Thomas Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): I was self-employed for 27 years before I came into this House, and I have campaigned long and hard for the abolition of class 2. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) said that this is a tax cut, which it is. Will the Chancellor allude to what the self-employed will be getting? As a self-employment ambassador to the former Prime Minister, I know the self-employment sector is very keen to find out exactly what it will get for this extra annuity.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I explained how we approached this issue. We have a bigger job to do here. The country is embarking on a great venture that will shape the future of this country for many years to come. National insurance class 4 contributions are important, but I suggest they are not the only challenge facing the country today. It is important that we focus on the other issues that are vital to get right.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Government Operations
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): It is certainly the case that at the time of the last general election the referendum had not taken place. Indeed, if a Conservative Government had not been elected a referendum would not have taken place. The hon. Gentleman knows and understands that very well. I have explained today how we approached the manifesto commitments, how we delivered them into law and how we have reviewed the way they are seen in the light of representations from colleagues.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): There has been much talk about the manifesto. This is the manifesto that promised to protect the elderly. In delivering an extra £2 billion for social care, does the Chancellor agree that those of us on the Government Benches need to support him when he makes difficult decisions to raise the cash? The alternative is putting future generations into horrendous debt.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is exactly right. As I have already said several times today, we will not adopt the convenient ruse the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington has of pretending that we can borrow for everything without any cost. If something needs doing, such as funding our social care system, we have to be prepared to pay for it. Simply pretending that we can borrow for it and pass the debts to our children is not a credible fiscal position.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Brett Charles Anthony Elphicke (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend the Chancellor for his statement and urge him to take firm action on fake self-employment, which is tax dodging by big businesses that are shirking their responsibilities and should know better. Will he also consider the case for a wide-ranging reform for a new deal for the self-employed, not just on the tax side of the ledger, but in respect of workplace support, so that we could have fairness and a level playing field between different types of worker?
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): That is the purpose of the report that Matthew Taylor is writing to look at the differences in treatment as the economy changes shape. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that there are examples of employers egregiously forcing employees into bogus self-employment, but there are also much more complex cases—for example, where new digital platforms are allowing people to work in different ways. Are they employees; are they self-employed; are they something else in between? We need to ask those questions because, as the economy changes shape, this will become an increasingly important issue for us to address.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, we have considered the issue of women affected by the pension age changes and we have provided some transitional funding. I am aware that there are people who believe that that is not sufficient and who would like more. I understand that, but the role of Government is always to balance the claims of individuals against the interests of the taxpayer, who has to fund these things in the end, and we think we have got that balance right.
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions — House of Commons, 2017-03-15
Topic: Labor
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Away from the Chamber of the House of Commons, out there in the real world, there is an army of self-employed people who are working their socks off from dawn to dusk and often longer. They often take great personal risks. They are the heroes and heroines of wealth creation. Without their efforts, we simply would not be able to afford the public services that we all enjoy. On behalf of the self-employed people of Kettering, I commend my right hon. Friend’s statement and thank him for thinking again.