General Election 2024: Tax and Northern Ireland

Here is the summary of the parties' manifestos:

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

The DUP’s manifesto argues for “fair” taxation to deliver more money “in the pockets of working people”. Their proposals include:

Personal and family taxes:

• Oppose the freeze on the personal tax allowance and higher rate income tax threshold.
• Support the personal allowance for pensioners always being above the amount of the state pension.
• Seek further reductions in National Insurance.
• Encourage the new government to replace income tax and National Insurance with a single tax on all income.
• Increase the tax-free childcare allowance from 20% to 35%.
• Remove the cap on tax-free childcare above £2,000.

Indirect taxes:

• Scrap VAT on school uniforms.
• Reduce VAT for hospitality across the UK to address the comparative disadvantage between businesses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Freeze Vehicle Excise Duty and  better link future rates to road use.
• Abolish VAT on domestic electricity bills.
• Maintain the fuel duty freeze.
• Oppose any increase in Insurance Premium Tax.

Business-related taxes:

• Increase the VAT threshold for SMEs to £100,000 and then uprate with inflation.
• Explore the potential introduction of an online sales tax targeting online corporates and marketplaces.
• Expand UK Research & Development tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises to include capital expenditure.
• Press the next government to use the tax system to incentivise businesses to up-skill and re-skill employees in skills shortage areas.
• Support ‘robust’ efforts to crack down on global tax-evading corporations.

Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein’s manifesto calls for:

• The transfer of fiscal powers to the Executive including the power to introduce ‘progressive taxation’

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

The SDLP manifesto calls for:

• “Meaningfully increase” the tax varying powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• The next UK government to increase the rate of tax-free childcare to 35% and lift the annual cap
• Work to increase the VAT threshold to £100,000.
• Support plans to levy a windfall tax on oil and gas “giants”

Alliance

The Alliance manifesto party calls for the UK tax system to be made more “progressive” with a greater focus on the taxation of wealth. The party’s proposals include:

Tax devolution:

• Review existing and potential revenue raising options and consideration of tax-raising powers for Northern Ireland.

Personal and family taxes:

• Increasing tax on the super-wealthy [to] allow for increased personal income tax allowances.
• Introduce e a “wealth tax” on the top 1% of UK earners.
• Increase property taxes on the “super rich”
• More generous tax relief for families with childcare costs, increasing the relief from 20% to 35%.

Business taxes:

• Demanding tax increases on fossil fuel giants.
• Increased carbon taxes on aviation and transport.
• Introduce a tax on share buybacks which the party says will raise c£1.4bn per year.

Tax compliance and administration:

• Tackling “tax-dodging” which harms the economies of both the UK and the Global South.
• Review existing and potential revenue-raising options and consideration of tax-varying powers.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

The UUP manifesto’s tax-related proposals include:

• Advocate for a “progressive” approach to taxation.
• Lower leisure and hospitality VAT in Northern Ireland to match the Republic of Ireland.
• Reduce corporation tax in Northern Ireland to 15%.
• Establish a 'Freeport Northern Ireland,' capitalising on UK government policy to establish freeports nationwide.