Reynolds Defends Indian Worker Tax Cut in Trade Deal – Guido Fawkes

WATCH: Reynolds Defends Indian Worker Tax Cut in Trade Deal

Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds had a repeated back and forth with Wilfred Frost this morning after papers splashed concerns over the UK’s exemption of seconded Indian workers from NICs for three years. Something Delhi described as a “huge win”…

Reynolds said the UK has a similar arrangement with numerous countries:

“No one is being undercut it’s very important you don’t pay into both systems you don’t get any benefits from paying into the UK, Indian workers in the Indian system British workers in the British system… actually the cost to bring that worker would be high.”

Frost pointed out that the cost incentives had now obviously changed: “Tata Steel – big Indian company here – if they wanted to hire a new worker today they would have to hire a British worker or or an Indian or a French or a German worker and pay the same tax rate – as of when the deal is signed they can bring an Indian worker over and pay a lower tax rate.”

Reynolds naturally refused to say British workers were undercut by the deal but did indicate the Double Convention Agreement comes at a cost of circa £100 million. The Home Office has privately complained about being kept in the dark on the changes. Labour discovering the optics of raising domestic employment taxes while pursuing free trade with foreign countries…