UK's Johnson announces 1.25% levy to pay for health and social care reform

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced a 1.25% levy based on National Insurance contributions to come in from next April to pay for health and social care reform and help address a backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It would be wrong for me to say that we can pay for this recovery without taking the difficult but responsible decisions about how we finance it," Johnson told parliament.

"It would be irresponsible to meet the costs from higher borrowing and higher debt."