Extra funding for social care could have been raised through taxing landlords, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer MP has said.
Speaking at the LGA Labour Leaders’ Summit, he said the Government’s plans to raise National Insurance on employees and employers to pay for the NHS backlog and social care were “unfair” and “poorly thought through”.
Instead, the money could have been raised by taxing the incomes of landlords, and those who buy and sell large quantities of financial assets, stocks and shares.
Under the Government’s plans, there will be a 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance from next April for workers and employers, meaning that someone earning £30,000 will pay an extra £255 a year, while someone on a £50,000 salary will pay £505.
Sir Keir said: “Working people will pay more tax now, but might still have to sell their home to pay even more later.”
The Government’s plans would leave “a private landlord, renting out multiple properties, not paying a penny more in tax, and their hard-working tenants to pick up the burden”.
Sir Keir warned that the plans would not provide any money for councils in the short term and would force them to put up council tax to meet demand.
Labour would instead introduce a principle of “home first” care, shifting the focus to prevention and early intervention, and introduce a “new deal” for care workers, he said.