Reeves targets lawyers, GPs and accountants in tax crackdown

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a new levy on individuals operating through limited liability partnerships (LLPs), including lawyers, family doctors and accountants, as part of efforts to plug a £30bn gap in the public finances.

Currently, partners in LLPs are classed as self-employed, meaning they are not subject to employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs), which stand at 15%, and pay a lower rate of employee NICs. Reeves is said to view this as an unfair advantage.

Under proposals developed by economists, a solicitor in a partnership earning the average of £316,000 would face an additional £23,000 charge. This is equivalent to an average tax rate of 7.3%.

Commenting on the idea, Arun Advani, director of CenTax, said: “Exempting partners from any equivalent to employer NICs is very regressive and simply means higher taxes for everyone else.”