Scottish Parliament – Feb. 18, 2025 – 2

S6M-16488.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-16488 in the name of Tom Arthur (Employer National Insurance Contributions), insert at end “;

warns that the increase to ENICs is a tax on jobs that will negatively impact employers and employees;

acknowledges that, as a direct consequence of Scottish Government policy, the Scottish public sector is disproportionately exposed to increases in labour costs because the Scottish public sector is proportionately larger than in the rest of the UK and its salary costs impose a heavier burden on taxpayers;

considers, therefore, that budget decisions by both the Scottish and UK governments will hurt taxpayers, consumers and workers in Scotland and will negatively impact growth, and supports common-sense Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party proposals for tax cuts to grow Scotland’s economy and give workers and businesses much-needed relief.”

Original motion(S6M-16488): That the Parliament recognises the significant adverse impacts of the UK Government’s intended changes to employer national insurance contributions (ENICs) on Scotland’s businesses, third sector, public services and wider economy;

believes that the impacts are likely to result in higher costs, job losses, increased prices and cause some charities and businesses to close altogether;

notes the potential disproportionate impact of the changes on consumer-facing sectors of Scotland’s economy, such as retail, tourism and hospitality businesses, organisations providing social care and third sector organisations commissioned to provide public services;

agrees with the significant concerns expressed by 50 organisations in Scotland, including COSLA and the STUC, who, along with the Scottish Government, wrote to the UK Government describing the risk to the vital services that they provide due to these additional costs, and calls on the UK Government to reverse this decision and not raise ENICs as planned in April 2025.