The Treasury Minister has confirmed that the government cannot provide exact figures on how many workers earned the minimum wage in 2023-24.
He cited the way the information is collected means it isn’t possible.
Responding to a question in Keys, Dr Alex Allinson said: “The assessor of income tax is not able to identify individuals who are in receipt of the national minimum wage.
“As details of hourly rates and hours worked are not required to be collated for income tax or national insurance purposes.”
However, the Minister provided an example: an individual earning the minimum wage (£10.75/hour) for 37 hours a week over 52 weeks would have an annual income of £20,683, paying £618.30 in income tax and £1,445.73 in National Insurance.
Earnings
When pressed for broader data, the minister directed members to the Isle of Man Earnings Survey Report 2023, published by the Cabinet Office, but noted its limitations:
He said: “Because the statistical requirements, the number of people surveyed is relatively low, and so the confidence levels of trying to draw out any extrapolations for the wider economy have to be taken into account.”
Chris Thomas (Douglas Central) challenged this stance, emphasising the survey’s legal mandate and statistical validity.
The Minister said: “I’m not questioning the statistics Isle of Man.
“What I’m pointing out, as they point out in their survey, is because the statistical requirements the number of people surveyed is relatively low, and so the confidence levels of trying to draw out any extrapolations for that for the wider economy, have to be taken into account.”
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