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Local MP slams jobs tax as Harrogate workers face £3,000 hit

Wednesday, 9 April 2025 07:33

Tom Gordon, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon has slammed a tax hike set to hit workers across the area.

Harrogate workers are set to lose nearly £3,000 from their pay by the end of the decade – with an average hit of almost £500 in the next year alone – according to new analysis by the Liberal Democrats.

The warning comes after the Labour government’s hike to employers’ National Insurance contributions came into effect this month. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that 76% of the cost will be passed on to workers through lower wages.

Since the announcement last autumn, local MP Tom Gordon said he has been “inundated” with concerns from charities, care providers, and businesses. 

Tom Gordon said:

“The Chancellor’s jobs tax is setting already stretched household finances up for another battering, right in the middle of a cost of living crisis. 

“After years of Conservative economic vandalism, this Labour government is now risking a wave of boarded-up shops across our much-loved high streets, leaving local businesses on the brink.

“The Government cannot go on pretending that their jobs tax won’t hurt people’s pockets. It is workers, town centres, and small businesses who will bear the brunt.

“The Chancellor must immediately scrap her jobs tax and overhaul the broken business rates system. Only then can we unlock Harrogate and Knaresborough’s full growth potential and protect local jobs and finances.”

In Parliament, Tom shared the stories of charities in his constituency facing severe financial strain. 

One expects to be hit with an additional £90,000 in annual costs, while another estimates £160,000 increase due to higher NICs. 

Tom explained how ‘the rug had been pulled from beneath them.’

The MP said he and his Liberal Democrat colleagues are calling on the Chancellor to scrap the jobs tax and “overhaul the broken business rates system.”

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