Employee national insurance (NI): This is not earmarked for schools, hospitals, etc, but is simply another tax, so let’s combine it with income tax.
Employer NI: This is a barrier to employment, penalising labour-intensive industries. Remove, and increase corporation tax, linking the total tax burden to profits, not a combination of profits and staff numbers. With high unemployment, this is vital.
Pension simplification: Scrap the annual and lifetime allowances, giving tax relief on pension contributions at the basic rate. This is fairer, easier to administer and brings in more revenue.
State pension age: Stop ducking the issue and make the state pension age 70 for everyone born from April 2012.
Salary sacrifice: With the points above implemented, we will no longer need salary sacrifice to avoid NI on pension contributions.
Sharesave saving limits: Greater encouragement for employees to purchase shares in their companies, as pension schemes invest less in equities. Raise the monthly sharesave saving limit from £250.
Share incentive plans: Raise the £1,500 annual limit (for the above reason) and make shares free of tax and NI after three years.
P11Ds: Too many are now caught by this complicated, resource-heavy process. We need to account for benefits in kind at source, through pay as you earn (PAYE).
Home computer initiative (HCI): Electronic communication has speed, cost and environmental advantages, and computer literacy is vital. Reintroduce the HCI, but for entry-level computers only.
Company cars: Only green company cars should be tax-efficient.
John Chilman is group reward and pensions director at FirstGroup