The Chancellor’s increase in insurance premium tax (IPT) from April means the UK will have the second highest tax on healthcare in the EU, according to Medicash.
The cash plan provider has attacked claims by the Chancellor George Osborne that his hike in insurance premium tax (IPT) only brings the UK into line with Europe, pointing out that only Greece has higher tax on healthcare insurance premiums.
Of 29 EU countries, 12 exempt healthcare of IPT and a further three do not apply it at all. Only six have IPT on healthcare above 6 per cent: Belgium (9.25%), France (9%), Greece (10%), Slovenia (6.5%), Slovakia (9.5%) and the UK (9.5%).
Medicash chief executive Sue Weir says: “Businesses in the UK need to realise that this tax puts them at a disadvantage in terms of growth and profits and the health and wellbeing of their employees if they are unable to cover the rise in providing health insurance for those employees.
“By putting the UK at a tax disadvantage to Europe the high level of IPT will impact negatively on UK business productivity and both the physical and mental health of our employees.”