Care homes and GPs could face closure under Labour tax plans, health leaders warn [Video]

1 November 2024, 22:08

By Henry Moore

GP practices and care homes could be forced to close under Labour’s new tax plans, health leaders claim.

Health leaders have warned Labour’s plans to raise £25 billion by taxing employers could “fatally undermine” their mission to fix the NHS, with elderly Brits to “bear the brunt” of the cost.

The NHS is exempt from the tax rises unveiled in Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget, but care homes, GPs and pharmacies are run as private businesses and so will have to pay the 1.2 per cent increase in employer National Insurance.

This could lead to a £40,000 increase in costs for the average GP, a new report from the Times claims.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, told the publication: “For some, this extra financial burden will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, forcing them to make tough decisions on redundancies …