Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was "a Budget of utter complacency".Mr Hammond said there had been a "dramatic increase" in the number of people working as self-employed - and that the reason for doing so should not be "differences in tax treatment". The disparity between the rates paid by the self-employed and employees "undermines the fairness of our tax system", he said.
German Industrial Production up by 2.8%
Chancellor Philip Hammond has increased National Insurance bills for self-employed people in his first Budget - leading to accusations he has broken a manifesto pledge not to raise taxes. There was also £2bn for social care services in England, and help for firms hit by business rate rises. On the economy he said growth was expected to be higher - and borrowing lower - than forecast in November.
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