1. Taxes and National Insurance

2. Learning outcomes The main learning outcomes for this lesson are:- Understand what tax is and what it pays for. Learn what National Insurance is.

3. Starter Discuss the following questions with the class:- What is tax? What do you think it pays for?

4. What is tax? Watch this short video, it will explain what tax is and where the money goes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHNosFrBHeI

5. Activity You will need to use the computers for this research task. Go to the Tax Matters website http://taxmatters.hmrc.gov.uk/ Click on the Taxes and Society section and answer the following questions:-http://taxmatters.hmrc.gov.uk/ Write down all the types of taxes collected by the UK government. Which one is most important in terms of revenue raised? How much does the UK government raise in taxes each year? And how much does it spend? How much does this work out per person?

6. Answers Income tax, National Insurance, Corporation tax, Excise Duty, VAT, Council tax Income tax Over £592 billion £683 billion £22,000 is spent on each person from taxes paid

7. Activity Whole-class discussion Now you know a bit more about tax what do they think about paying it? Are the benefits worth the money paid?

8. Tax evasion – activity You will need to read through the tax evasion section on the website. You have 5 minutes! Now discuss:- What do you think of those who refuse to pay tax or try to defraud the system? Can you think of any examples you may have heard of in your local area?

9. National Insurance What is National Insurance?

10. National Insurance Anyone 16 years or older either working for someone or self- employed pays National Insurance. When you reach the age where you get state pension you stop paying for National Insurance. Everyone will get a National Insurance card. Each card has a number, this number will be requested by:-:- banks if you are opening a new account, new employers when you get a job, going on holiday, getting a mortgage etc. The National Insurance is a unique number that only applies to you! National Insurance helps pay for the following items:- NHS – A small amount of the money goes towards this. Pensions Benefits

11. Activity You will need to use the computers for this task. Go to the National Insurance section on the Tax Matters website http://taxmatters.hmrc.gov.uk/. Each pupil will need to answer the following questions:- Write down a list of who pays National Insurance Contributions (NICs). Include both individuals and organisations on your list. How much do individuals have to pay in NICs? What benefits are available to those who have paid NICs? Why do you think the benefits bill has increased so much over the last 50 years?

12. Answers All individual people aged over 16 years and working in a job. If you earn under £149 per week then you pay nothing. If you earn between £149 - £797 per week then you pay 12% of your wage. If you earn over £797 then you pay a higher rate. NHS services, benefits, pensions, education. More people are unemployed, the birth rate has gone up, people are living longer and therefore claiming their pensions for longer, more hospitals and treatments available that have to be paid for.

13. Plenary Quick recap of the lesson, have a class discussion around the following questions:- What do you now think about paying taxes? In what other ways can we contribute to working together for a better society? What do you think about people who try to avoid paying taxes? What is the point of paying National Insurance contributions? What unexpected events could happen to make the payments worthwhile? Why is it important to keep NI numbers safe and secure?