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| Company bosses back Tories on tax | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A group of senior business leaders has come out in favour of Conservative plans to reverse part of the government's National Insurance rise. | A group of senior business leaders has come out in favour of Conservative plans to reverse part of the government's National Insurance rise. |
| The 23 top executives, including the bosses of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Next, "welcomed" the Tory pledge in a letter to the Daily Telegraph. | The 23 top executives, including the bosses of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Next, "welcomed" the Tory pledge in a letter to the Daily Telegraph. |
| They said the 1% NI increase, due in April 2011, was a "tax on jobs" and would come at "exactly the wrong time". | They said the 1% NI increase, due in April 2011, was a "tax on jobs" and would come at "exactly the wrong time". |
| Labour has said the Tories' position is "irresponsible" and an economic risk. | Labour has said the Tories' position is "irresponsible" and an economic risk. |
| They argue that the tax-cutting pledge contradicts the party's long-standing position that reducing the budget deficit should be the number one priority for the next government. | |
| 'Wrong time' | |
| On Monday, the Conservatives outlined plans, if they win the election, to scrap the tax rise for anyone earning less than £45,400 a year - which they say would save people £150 a year. | |
| Their position has now been endorsed by a group of high-profile businessmen, including Marks & Spencer chief executive Sir Stuart Rose and Sainsbury's boss Justin Rose. | |
| Writing to the Telegraph, the business leaders said the proposed NI increase was an "additional tax on jobs" and would come into effect "at exactly the wrong time in the economic cycle". | |
| In addition, they also support the Conservatives' plan to pay for the reversal by removing £6bn of government waste and bureaucracy in 2010-11 - an aspiration which other parties say is totally unrealistic. | |
| "In the last two years, businesses across the country have cut their costs without undermining the service they provide," the letter says. "It is time for the government to do the same." | |
| It adds: "Cutting government waste won't endanger the recovery - but putting up national insurance will." |