David Cameron will today propose a multi-billion pound tax cut for employers, in a Tory bid to pre-empt Gordon Brown's expected tax cutting package in this month's pre-Budget report.

The Conservative leader yesterday pledged to unveil "tax changes that will help to encourage businesses to take on workers and keep workers". Those changes, under the banner slogan "keep Britain working", are expected to centre on a National Insurance payments holiday for companies taking on new staff. The tax break would be funded through savings to the welfare budget from getting short-term unemployed people back into work, according to Tory sources.