Despite the Chancellor’s reversal of his Budget announcement on Class 4 NICs on 15 March, almost all tax practitioners believe that the substantially different incidence of national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by the self employed and partners in comparison to that paid by employees and their employers needs to be addressed by the Chancellor sooner rather than later.

Understandably, however, it is difficult for tax advisers to argue for this (publicly in any case) as an equalisation of the NIC treatment would lead to many of their clients paying higher national insurance contributions. Of course, any reduction in NICs paid by employees and employers would attract less comment. Any reduction in the employers’ NICs would be criticised on the basis that the least popular listed or multinational company at that point in time would be securing a ‘tax expenditure’.

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