Jonathan Isaby: Call it what it is: The Government should merge income tax and National Insurance

Jonathan Isaby is the Political Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance 

Last month I wrote here on ConservativeHome about the TaxPayers' Alliance's proposals to merge National Insurance with Income Tax, as contained in our report, Abolish National Insurance. 

Yesterday, as I covered on the TPA's blog here, the Government made some highly encouraging noises about tax transparency and looking at how to enable people to see far more easily just what the tax man is taking from them each month and each year.

However, whilst the Government reckon that in the coming five years it may be able to work towards merging the operation of income tax and NICs, it regrettably still wants National Insurance to “retain an identity distinguishable from income tax".

The TPA is still of the view that the most transparent and least burdensome solution is to merge the two entirely, and to this end we have today released a short video to make the point: