Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) receipts rose 11% over the last financial year, underlining the importance of a carve out on health insurance products, according to Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone.
HM Revenue & Customs data for the latest 12 months showed total IPT receipts for the last complete financial year 2023-24 were £8.15bn, which was £805m (11%) higher than the previous financial year 2022-23.
Total provisional IPT receipts for the first three months of the current 2024-25 financial to June were £2.12bn, which was £236m (13%) higher than the same period last year.
Hill (pictured) said: “Since Labour’s election victory it’s clear that Insurance Premium Tax remains a driving force behind the Treasury’s revenue numbers.
“With premium inflation hitting a variety of sectors and products, record demand for private healthcare as waiting lists and economic inactivity due to long-term illness grow has meant health insurance is accelerating this trend, with the year-to-date figures already at record levels.
“The chancellor’s desire to find alternative revenue streams to bolster the Treasury’s coffers and limit the UK’s fiscal black hole may bring IPT into question ahead of the Autumn Budget in October.
“We would like to see the new government introduce an IPT carve out on health insurance products such as private medical insurance (PMI) and health cash plans.
“Access to the private healthcare market is a critical solution to alleviating the burden on the NHS, and supporting and incentivising businesses to protect the workforce’s health and productivity via more comprehensive health benefit schemes has both societal and economic benefits for the country, while minimising costs for the state.”