An organisation has been formed to fight further attempts to increase Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) following successive budget rises.
The National Campaign Against Insurance Premium Tax (NCAIPT) is a non-political organisation appealing to a cross section of the insurance industry.
A media campaign has been planned from the organisation's headquarters in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Meanwhile, a lobby campaign of ministers to try to prevent Chancellor Gordon Brown from increasing the rate in the next budget is underway.
Currently, IPT is charged at a rate of five per cent. ABI director general, Mary Francis has cited the burden as an obstacle in the search for full social inclusion in the financial services industry. The industry fears the rate could increase to 12.5%.
The campaign is being directed by Philip Allott who said that the industry needed to speak with a single voice. "The insurance industry has been too fragmented to present a cohesive view over IPT, which has made it an easy target for extra taxation.
"If the Government is so keen on charging the industry IPT, why doesn't it switch to VAT?" he said.
