The UK’s army of white van men could see key taxes slashed in Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement.
The chancellor is believed to be considering slashing Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the self-employed.
As it stands plumbers, electricians and other self employed people get hit with a nine percent charge on profits between £12,570 and £50,270.
Anything above this incurs a 2 per cent levy.
A government insider said there was a “70 per cent chance” this tax will be cut on Wednesday, reports The Sun.
The ‘transit tax’ is another white van man tax that could be frozen.
The van benefit charge was put up by £72 last year to nearly £800.
Mr Hunt spoke about reducing the tax burden on families on a visit to Milton Keynes yesterday.
He said: “It’s very important that we find a way to reduce the tax burden on working families. But there are no shortcuts.”
As well as helping businesses, Mr Hunt is considering cutting Inheritance Tax in next week’s announcement.
It is the last major fiscal event before election year.
He said: “I think the priority should always be business tax cuts if you have headroom for cuts.
“Because in the end what we need to do is to improve the long-term capacity of the British economy to generate the wealth we need to pay for the NHS.
“So that will always be the priority.”
Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have driven the nation’s tax burden to a 70-year high, adding to cost-of-living pressures.
But improved public finances have raised hopes there is plenty of wriggle room for an array of pre-Christmas giveaways.
Inflation plunged to 4.6 percent last month and it may have given Downing Street more confidence to cut taxes.
And Government borrowing – the difference between spending and tax income – was £20 billion lower last year than had been forecasted by the OBR.
The Resolution Foundation claims the Chancellor has an extra £6.5 billion to spend because previously high inflation, coupled with record wage growth, is driving up tax revenues.
Overall it means the government has more than £26 billion of headroom to operate within.
This compares to £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget.
