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| General election 2019: Boris Johnson pledges cut to National Insurance | General election 2019: Boris Johnson pledges cut to National Insurance |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson says workers will not have to pay National Insurance until they earn £12,000 if the Conservatives are elected to power. | Boris Johnson says workers will not have to pay National Insurance until they earn £12,000 if the Conservatives are elected to power. |
| Answering questions in Teesside, the prime minister promised his party would ensure "low tax for working people". | Answering questions in Teesside, the prime minister promised his party would ensure "low tax for working people". |
| The current threshold sees workers paying National Insurance contributions once they earn £8,628 a year. | The current threshold sees workers paying National Insurance contributions once they earn £8,628 a year. |
| Mr Johnson had promised to raise the threshold to £12,500 during the Tory leadership contest. | Mr Johnson had promised to raise the threshold to £12,500 during the Tory leadership contest. |
| That pledge could see workers saving up to £465 a year. | |
| The Institute for Fiscal Studies had estimated the proposed rise to £12,500 - which would would match the threshold where workers start paying income tax - would cost £11bn. | |
| On a visit to an engineering plant, Mr Johnson was asked by one of the workers whether his pledges for low tax were "for people like you... or people like us". | On a visit to an engineering plant, Mr Johnson was asked by one of the workers whether his pledges for low tax were "for people like you... or people like us". |
| The PM said: "I mean low tax for people... working people. | The PM said: "I mean low tax for people... working people. |
| "We are going to be cutting national insurance up to £12,000 [and] we are going to be making sure that we cut business rates for small businesses. We are cutting tax for working people." | "We are going to be cutting national insurance up to £12,000 [and] we are going to be making sure that we cut business rates for small businesses. We are cutting tax for working people." |
| What is National Insurance? | |
| National Insurance is a tax paid by workers and the self-employed who are over 16, with the amount varying depending on how much you earn. | |
| For employees, it is taken straight out of your salary before you receive it, while self-employed people need to pay as part of their self-assessment. | |
| By paying the tax, you are entitled to a number of benefits, such as a state pension, Jobseeker's Allowance and maternity pay. | |
| The contributions cover these benefits, with some also going towards the NHS. |