- Britain is expected to announce a tax hike for about 25 million people, in a move that would cap social-care costs for individuals and increase funding for the National Health Service, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson next week will reveal the rise in National Insurance, a type of tax paid to fund government benefits programs, the report said.
The prime minister's office favours a 1% rise in the tax, while the Treasury is possibly looking at a higher rate of up to 1.25%, according to the report.
In return, the government will cap the amount a person can spend on social-care costs during their lifetime, possibly at between 60,000 pounds ($83,010) and 80,000 pounds, according to the newspaper.
The tax hike will be a manifesto-breaking one for Johnson, with his Conservative Party ruling out raising the main rates of income tax, value-added tax or National Insurance during its 2019 election campaign.
For the NHS, the proceeds will be used to clear a backlog built up during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report added.
($1 = 0.7228 pounds)