The National Insurance Fund had been in healthy surplus, but this has been declining sharply in recent years to the extent that without Treasury finance the balance on the Fund is projected to fall below the recommended minimum in 2014/15.
National Insurance Fund: 1975 to 2014 (368 KB , PDF)
The National Insurance Scheme was established on 5 July 1948 to provide unemployment benefits, sickness benefit, retirement pensions and other benefits in cases where individuals meet the contribution and other qualifying conditions. Benefits due under the Scheme are paid out of the National Insurance Fund and the costs of these benefits are mainly met on a "pay-as-you-go" basis by the contributions paid by employees, employers and the self employed.
The Fund had been in healthy surplus, but this has been declining sharply in recent years to the extent that without Treasury finance the balance on the Fund is projected to fall below the recommended minimum in 2014/15.
National Insurance Fund: 1975 to 2014 (368 KB , PDF)
This note discusses the process by which National Insurance numbers (NINOs) are allocated and the uses to which they are put, before discussing the background to the introduction of the 'Right to Work' test for individuals requiring a NINO for employment purposes.
For over 30 years businesses in the construction industry have operated a special scheme to account for tax on payments made between contractors and subcontractors. After a long period of consultation, the 'Construction Industry Scheme' was reformed in 2007. This note discusses the background to this reform, and recent reforms to tackle VAT fraud in this sector.
The 'IR35' rules to prevent the exploitation of personal service companies for tax avoidance were introduced in April 2000, following a long and contentious consultation exercise. This legislation remains unpopular among freelancers who use this corporate form to provide services. This note looks at debates as to the effectiveness of these rules and wider concerns about the use of employment intermediaries to avoid tax, before discussing recent developments as to their application in the public and private sector.
