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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Insurance premiums 'rising due to tax change' | Insurance premiums 'rising due to tax change' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Insurers have warned customers that premiums will go up thanks to a tax rise that has now come into force. | Insurers have warned customers that premiums will go up thanks to a tax rise that has now come into force. |
| The Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) rate has increased from 10% to 12%, with motor, home, pet and health insurance all affected. | The Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) rate has increased from 10% to 12%, with motor, home, pet and health insurance all affected. |
| Companies warn that the average family will be paying £47 more a year as a result. | Companies warn that the average family will be paying £47 more a year as a result. |
| Successive chancellors have found IPT to be an irresistible way to raise money for their spending plans. | Successive chancellors have found IPT to be an irresistible way to raise money for their spending plans. |
| This latest rise of two percentage points to 12% means that the rate has doubled in only a few years. | This latest rise of two percentage points to 12% means that the rate has doubled in only a few years. |
| Calculations suggest that the tax rise will add £8 to the average motor policy. | |
| It may add £20 to the bill for a 19-year-old whose motor insurance premium was already much higher than the average, owing to the greater risk posed by younger drivers. | |
| A percentage tax bears heaviest on those who have the most expensive policies, such as young drivers or people living in less well-off areas or flood zones. | A percentage tax bears heaviest on those who have the most expensive policies, such as young drivers or people living in less well-off areas or flood zones. |
| A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Insurance Premium Tax is a tax on insurers, not consumers - insurance firms decide whether to pass it on to their customers or not. | |
| "IPT is higher in several European countries, including France and Germany, than it is in the UK." | |
| However, the Association of British Insurers said it punished responsible people who had done the right thing by buying cover for their cars and homes. | However, the Association of British Insurers said it punished responsible people who had done the right thing by buying cover for their cars and homes. |