Chancellor Philip Hammond has bucked the trend of recent Budgets in making no further increases to insurance premium tax (IPT) although draft legislation to prevent avoidance is being introduced.
The government had increased IPT three times in two years, taking the rate of IPT to 12% in the Autumn Statement 2016, meaning the UK has one of the highest rates in Europe. The general insurance industry had lobbied to prevent further rises to the tax which has led to large premium increases for consumers. Research from the Association of British Insurers had found that further increases to IPT could add a further £52.50 to the cost of the average private medical insurance policy. Earlier this week, The Health Insurance Group warned that any further increase could cause people to...
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