Hunt issues tax warning as cut in national insurance takes effect

Chancellor says reduction to 10% will bring ‘significant relief’ but return to pre-pandemic levels of tax can’t be achieved in one go

Jeremy Hunt has said he does not know if he can afford to cut taxes for British households, on the day a national insurance reduction came into force.

The main rate of national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by employees is now 10%, down from 12% as announced by the chancellor in his autumn statement in November.