2,000 businesses in Westmorland have reduced tax bills - Farron

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed figures released this morning by HM Revenue & Customs which show that 2,000 businesses in Westmorland and Lonsdale have taken up the Employment Allowance tax cut.

The 'Employment Allowance' allows employers to reduce the amount of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) they pay for their employees by up to £2,000.

Estimates released today by HM Revenue & Customs are given on both a UK wide and regional level for the number of employers that have taken up the Employment Allowance midway through the 2014 to 2015 tax year. In Westmorland 2,000 businesses have benefited.

In comparison, in Barrow 1,100 companies benefited, Carlisle 1,000 businesses, Copeland 1,000, Workington 1,000 and Penrith and Border 1,700. Tim pointed to these figures as being further evidence that South Lakeland is the 'entrepreneurial hub of Cumbria'.

According to the figures, the overwhelming beneficiaries from this tax cut are businesses that employ between one to nine employees. Retail, construction and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities are the sectors with the largest uptake in the allowance.

Tim said: "Helping businesses, especially small businesses, to grow is one of my top priorities and something I regularly press Ministers on. When small business and the high street thrive, our local economy thrives. These figures show that local businesses in our area are getting more support, but I will keep at it and doing all I can to support them. This is further evidence that our area is the entrepreneurial hub of Cumbria and we must do all we can to foster it."