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Secret2ndAccount

The Conservatives have committed to increasing pensioners' personal allowance so that it always remains above the level of the full State Pension.
Sensible move since they would eventually have had to do that anyway.

kempiejon

The recent cut in national insurance benefited those in work and not pensioners so it feels like it's a bit of levelling up for workers verses pensioners.
If the tax has to be paid and the government have calculated a level at which the allowance is set this is an accounting error. Pensioners are not special everyone pays tax. Why not just raise the allowance for everyone.

hugheskevi

I don't think it is essential that the Personal Allowance always has to be above the rate of new State Pension, that is a political choice. Although you would probably want to have a different system than end-of-year tax demands to pensioners, and might want to do something about the growing use of K Tax Codes. Sooner or later, I think tax would be deducted from State Pension in the same way it is for private pension.

However, it is made more difficult by the rate of Pension Credit for single people. That is marginally below the rate of new State Pension. It would be difficult to justify someone who has never made any provision - State or Private - for themselves having a higher net income (plus passporting to full rates and entitlement to other benefits) than someone with a full new State Pension and no private saving.

Given the ambition to move away from means-testing pensioners inherent in the new State Pension design (albeit only really for Pension Credit, and not Housing Benefits or Council Tax Benefits), such a position would be very undesirable.

MikeJXE

Surely everyone know promises mean nothing when you are not going to be in a position to carry them out 

pinnks

Why not simply repeal the legislation that froze the allowance and allow the existing law to increase it by inflation - stop messing with the tax legislation for political purposes!

saucer

pinnks said:

Why not simply repeal the legislation that froze the allowance and allow the existing law to increase it by inflation - stop messing with the tax legislation for political purposes!

Probably because the general public have a poor understanding of fiscal drag and it is therefore a relatively easy way of increasing the tax take. 

sgx2000

Labour's answer should have been......

"We are Labour.  We will never tax State Pension"

But no.....
Lets leave the pensioners confused....
Will they ever learn?

Labour wont win the election.
But the Tories will lose it....

Grumpy_chap

This thread needs to consider the sticky:
"Please note that the Forum's rules on avoiding general political discussion still apply across all boards."

eskbanker

Secret2ndAccount said:

The Conservatives have committed to increasing pensioners' personal allowance so that it always remains above the level of the full State Pension.
Sensible move since they would eventually have had to do that anyway.

Why?      

swindiff

How is it not age discrimination to have different personal tax allowance based on an individuals age?  Just thinking about the mess made with public service pensions following the McCloud Judgement

MallyGirl

No different to having different minimum wage for young people