Pensioners getting hit again (From Thurrock Gazette)

Pensioners getting hit again

1:10pm Wednesday 28th March 2012 in Letters to the Editor

PENSIONERS have had an age tax relief in one form or another since it was introduced by Winston Churchill in 1925.

Now, 87 years later, George Osborne plans to phase it out saying no one will lose any cash.

But I beg to differ because it is an increase in taxation by stealth as identified by the Rooker/Wise amendment in section 22 of the Finance Act 1977 where Jeff Rooker, Audry Wise and Nigel Lawson said that “without indexation, inflation acted as an unauthorised, unintended and unknown increase in taxation”.

I think when George Osborne said our tax system was too complicated for pensioners to understand he was being very patronising.

This does not affect all pensioners, it will only affect the ones who have saved for their retirement, have a small company pension and have total income of less than £25,400. The phasing out does not start until 2013/14 tax year.

But I cannot see where George Osborne can justify giving someone whose income is £1million a £42,500 tax rebate and at the same time freezing the pensioners’ allowance, in doing so make them pay more tax. – PETER ARBER, Rayleigh Road, Stanford-le-Hope.