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National Insurance Contributions Bill

moved Amendment No. 2: 2: Clause 1, page 1, line 5, at end insert— ““( ) After section 5 of that Act insert— ““5A Amount to be specified as upper earnings limit (1) This section applies for 2010–11 and subsequent tax years if the retail prices index for the September before the start of a tax year is higher than it was for the previous September. (2) The upper earnings limit may be increased to an amount which does not exceed the amount found as follows— Step 1 Increase the upper earnings limit for the previous tax year by the same percentage as the percentage increase in the retail prices index. Step 2 If the result of Step 1 is not a multiple of £1, round it up to the nearest amount which is a multiple of £1. Step 3 Add to or deduct from the result of Step 2 an amount not exceeding £2 determined by the Secretary of State for the purposes of aligning the upper earnings limit on an annual basis with the sum of the personal allowance and the basic rate limit under sections 20 and 35 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (c. 3) for the tax year.”””” On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 2 [Amount to be specified as upper earnings limit: Northern Ireland]: