George Osborne MUST now U-Turn 'Granny Tax'!

margaretclare

patanne wrote: »

I too am a pensioner - certainly not rich but not poor either, but I do pay tax and have been affected by this freeze. I have to wonder though why this allowance wasn't given to everybody when it started. After all, who on earth can possibly believe that it is right for someone on minimum wage to be paying tax. So to put it another way, I am content to have this freeze on my personal allowance and just hope that everyone else catches up in the shortest possible time-frame. Perhaps I feel this way because I am not a "Granny"!!

DH and I are both pensioners and we both pay tax. I think the comparison with 1925 is waaaay off-beam. Life has changed out of all recognition since then, if you read a little history. It has changed in terms of lifestyles, of expectations, of educational level, of the - ahem - class system. A pensioner who had enough income to pay tax in 1925 would have been employing a servant who got paid a pittance and was grateful for that pittance and for a roof and food. One of my ancestors, no doubt!

Patanne, you say you feel that way because you're not a Granny. Well, I am a granny, and DH is a grandad. My grandchildren are struggling and I'm delighted that the personal allowance level will rise because that will help them. DH's grandchildren are still at school so it doesn't affect them - yet. His son is a higher rate taxpayer and seems to spend half his life travelling. We need more entrepreneurs and higher-rate taxpayers, not fewer!

Moby

gadgetmind wrote: »

And then back down to 40% where it was before Labour increased it TEMPORARILY.

It didn't work at 50%, it won't work much better at 45%, and even 40% is a compromise.

....because Osborne says so? You'll not be suprised I don't believe the figures! He's about as convincing as Jeremy Hunt's evidence at the Leveson Inquiry. Seriously though... IMO they never gave it the time it needed. Also The higher rate tax payers are far more adept at avoiding tax so 50% tax rate needed to be combined with more efficient and rigorous policies for closing the loop holes. I'm amazed how many companies are now registered in Luxembourg for tax purposes!

....but I'm sure we'll all be saved by all those new entrepreneurs about to pop out of the ether!...on second thoughts they won't save us either...because the very skills that make them entrepreneurs will also be employed towards avoiding their tax liabilities.

boozercruiser

Moby wrote: »

I must admit even I did not fully realise how quickly this shambles of a government would crash and burn. That budget must have been the most incompetent piece of legislation I've ever seen. I've been told that 40% of pensioners will lose on average about £83 a year from the freezing of allowances. Ultimately the equalisation of allowances is fairer but then the pasty faced Osborne decides that those earning 150K or above will see their tax rate go from 50% to 45%......:rotfl:

At least I can agree with you that we have an incompetent shambles of a government.

To think I voted for the Tory Toffs in the hope that things could only get better. Instead the opposite has happened.:mad:

"I've been told that 40% of pensioners will lose on average about £83 a year from the freezing of allowances".

And anyone retiring from April 2013 and paying tax will be £325 a year down as the allowance goes down to £9,205 a year.:(

hugheskevi

6th highest rated comment (of 53) on BBC article about "Plan to remove 'granny flat' council tax":

Now they can do another U-turn & reinstate the Age Allowance for pensioners that they're callously withdrawing next April.

The state pension of just over £100 per week (way below European average) won't even pay rent on one room in London - to avoid death pensioners need income from savings. Look out for starved & frozen pensioners lying in the street.

Cameron - watch out for the grey vote!

I do hope we have a mild winter...

boozercruiser

hugheskevi wrote: »

6th highest rated comment (of 53) on BBC article about "Plan to remove 'granny flat' council tax":



I do hope we have a mild winter...

You are so kind M8:T When Heating or Eating is the decision for many Pensioners that really does matter!;)

boozercruiser

THE BROKEN PROMISE

George Osborne has broken a promise he made last year to keep raising pensioner allowances. The National Pensioner Convention uncovered the broken promise in last year's budget documentation.

The 2011 Red Book said 'For the duration of this parliament age related allowance and other thresholds for older people will increase by the equivalent of the RPI'. This was purportedly to 'ensure older people do not lose out', the document said.

Yet some 700,000 OAPs turning 65 next year will shoulder the brunt of the pain, missing out on £323 a year along with present pensioners losing around £83 each thanks to the Chancellor's Tax-Grab.

To help pay for this the 50p tax rate going down to 45p so footballers and the like will be around £40,000 a year better off.

George Osborne. Robbing Hood.

The day George Osborne took the Elderly for fools...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yDqFvVBNK4

The Tax Gran song...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMVe4kfQaE

jem16

boozercruiser wrote: »

And anyone retiring from April 2013 and paying tax will be £325 a year down as the allowance goes down to £9,205 a year.:(

The allowance doesn't go down as they never had it in the first place.

I see you are back to ranting again and ignoring points made to you. The debate didn't last long.

chris_m

boozercruiser wrote: »

with present pensioners losing around £83 each thanks to the Chancellor's Tax-Grab.

There's a big difference between "losing £83" and "not getting £83 more" - but, hey, the latter, although more accurate, just gets in the way of a good rant.

margaretclare

hugheskevi wrote: »

6th highest rated comment (of 53) on BBC article about "Plan to remove 'granny flat' council tax":

I do hope we have a mild winter...

This quote is absolute nonsense. Anyone who is only on the SRP of £107 a week will also have access to means-tested benefits and that includes help with rent and council tax, so the comment about renting a room in London is emotive, rabble-rousing rubbish.

gadgetmind

Moby wrote: »

....because Osborne says so? You'll not be suprised I don't believe the figures!

So, where do you get your information on whether it was working or not?

IMO they never gave it the time it needed.

Needed to do what? Drive all the entrepreneurs, the ones who start vital businesses and *already* pay the bulk of income tax, from our shores? No, it wasn't in place for long enough to do any lasting damage, but it still did damage.

....but I'm sure we'll all be saved by all those new entrepreneurs about to pop out of the ether!

I'm guessing you don't know many entrepreneurs, nor understand their motivations. It's not usually as much about money as many think.