// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
Calls to cut employer National Insurance contributions for under-25s
Aqila Choudhry, who runs a care company in Leeds, said businesses "desperately need no more tax rises"
Businesses across Yorkshire are urging Chancellor John Healey to cut National Insurance (NI) contributions for under-25s in his first Budget.
West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, which represents 5,000 employers in the region, said the reduction would help tackle the "youth unemployment crisis".
Healey will deliver his first Budget on 28 October, but has refused to rule out tax increases after acknowledging that government borrowing costs were at "historic highs".
Some businesses have told the BBC they were still struggling after the "shock" increases in employers' NI contributions in 2024 and were hoping for tax reliefs.
Aqila Choudhry, the managing director of Leeds-based care home provider Love in Care, said businesses had already been struggling with rising costs over the previous decade, and that Labour's first Budget in 2024 had made things worse.
"The shock of the increase in National Insurance contributions [for employers] in 2024 really hit everyone as it was not expected and the impact is still being felt," she said.
She said businesses needed help if they were to "survive, sustain and grow", adding that they "desperately need no more tax rises".
Choudhry also backed calls by the chamber to reduce employers' NI contributions for under-25s, which she said would help address the issue of young people not in education, employment or training.
Principal of York College, Ken Murray, would like the chancellor to allow colleges to claim a rebate on VAT