𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Businesses hiring migrants face higher taxes and extra recruitment costs if Nigel Farage wins the next election. Reform’s economic spokesman, Robert Jenrick, warned firms that the era of cheap foreign labour will end.

And Mr Jenrick confirmed “millions of low-wage migrants” will be told to leave when their visas expire. Nigel Farage’s party will introduce an Employers’ Migrant Labour Levy, a “graduated” fee that businesses will pay for each foreign worker they employ. And the cash generated by the scheme will go towards slashing employers’ National Insurance contributions for British workers.

Mr Jenrick said: “For more than 20 years now, we’ve had British workers coming second – undercut by cheap migrant labour, which drives down wages and our people’s quality of life.

“The experiment of letting in millions of low-wage migrants – as millions of Brits languish on benefits – has failed catastrophically. Reform will end it.”

“Reform’s migration policies – not renewing the visas of millions of low-wage migrants, and scrapping indefinite leave to remain, will see low-wage or not-working migrants leave Britain.

“This new tax is going to particularly hit cheap migrant labour, as their visas run out, and incentivise businesses to replace them quickly, as soon as possible, with Brits who are currently languishing on benefits.”

Under Mr Jenrick’s plans, business chiefs face higher costs if they want to recruit lower-paid foreign nationals.

Specialists and higher-paid foreign employees would not be subject to such a steep rate, to avoid penalising companies for hiring top-tier talent from overseas.

Explaining his policy, the former immigration minister told journalists: “For illustrative purposes, suppose it was set at around £3,750 for a full-time worker on the National Living Wage. And it tapered down to £1,500 for someone earning around £50,000. And £500 for someone earning around £100,000.

“There are around 3.6million non-EU workers in Britain. Most earn the median income or less. The weighted average levy on them would be around £2,900.

“That means the Levy will raise £10billion from non-EU migrants on PAYE alone.

“Include contractors and the self-employed, and it’d raise £11.2billion from this group alone.”

Mr Jenrick said charging businesses more to hire foreign workers would help Britain slash the ballooning benefits bill.

A recent report by former health secretary Alan Milburn found that Britain’s youth unemployment crisis is costing the country £125billion a year.

Britain is spending about £334billion on welfare.

He said: “It is high time the British Government put British workers first. And migrant labour second.

“Right now, if you’re running a care home, it makes no difference to you whether you hire a British citizen or a foreign worker… But it makes a huge difference to our country.

“If the migrant is hired, the taxman collects £7,000 in taxes. But ends up paying the British candidate not hired around £8,000 on universal credit. If the British worker was hired instead, the £7,000 in tax would still be paid. But the £8,000 in benefits would be saved.

“Under Reform, because of this levy, businesses will have to take responsibility for the costs and benefits their hiring decisions have on everyone else.”

Reform UK admitted the amount of money generated from the levy will fall as the party’s immigration policies begin to bite.

Zia Yusuf, Nigel Farage’s home affairs spokesman, has vowed to scrap indefinite leave to remain and replace it with five-year visas.

This will be accompanied by “much higher salary thresholds”, “mandatory fluency” in English, and “stricter good character requirements”. Foreign workers will only be able to bring their families with them if they earn enough money.

Reform will also increase the minimum qualifying period for British citizenship to seven years.

Mr Jenrick added: “This policy will in no way delay the exit from Britain of migrants we don’t need.

“The levy is designed to help businesses transition to the new world where cheap foreign labour won’t be on tap after Reform don’t renew the visas of millions of low-skilled migrants.

“So: yes, the tax base for the levy will rapidly shrink as Reform’s migration policies take effect. But the revenue gains from this reform won’t.

“Because if a low-wage migrant leaves – even one paying the levy – and a British worker takes that job from receiving Universal Credit, the Exchequer will gain nearly £10,000 per year.

“As long as just four in 10 of the vacated roles go to Britons coming off welfare – less than half – the package will continue to more than pay for itself.”