Well, it taxes me

9:28am Tuesday 1st May 2012 in Letters

OH how I wish I could understand this tax system of ours. Having been assured that I would not be worse off, I find that, like other pensioners, I am worse off.

My state pension went up from £62.32 to £64.52, a rise of £2.20, but my pension savings tax credit was reduced by £6.22 from £9.21 to £2.99 per week. Overall I am £4.02 worse off every week.

Surely this is like Robin Hood in reverse – taking from the poor to give to the rich? Their tax rate has been reduced from 50p in the pound to 45p in the pound and a lot of the very rich have found ways to avoid paying the amount of income tax that they should.

People such as me cannot afford an accountant to help us get out of paying taxes.

If the rich paid the correct amount of taxes, the people at the lower end of the scale would be paying less.

The £4.02 I’m losing a week may not seem like a lot to the rich, but makes a huge difference to people such as me.

Anne Shepherd, Kexby Avenue, Hull Road, York.

Comments(3)

Oaklands Resident says...
11:51am Tue 1 May 12

Seems strange given that the pensions savings credit hasn't been changed. It is a safety net which ensures that all pensioners have a minimum income.

The effect of the pension charge should have been, at worst, neutral on this persons income.

Anyone can check their entitlement figures on this free, on line, calculator http://tinyurl.com/b
qm2osl

Or ask your MP or Councillor to check it out for you.

NB. The Savings Credit can be up to:
•£18.54 a week if you're single
•£23.73 a week if you have a partner
You may still get the Savings Credit even if the money you have coming in is up to about:
•£189 a week if you are single
•£277 a week if you have a partner

Report this post »

ColdAsChristmas says...
12:47pm Tue 1 May 12

Welcome to the modern world of Politics Anne, where spin, stealth and propaganda rule. Your revelation comes to me as no surprise, keeping in mind that from a Cabinet of 29, 23 are millionaires. Hardly representative of the public as the PC brigade have come to expect.
A few years ago Gordon Brown gave a years' notice that he was abolishing the 10p rate of tax, with a year to act, the two parties now in government did nothing to oppose the move until after the event, then for anti government protest only. Gordon Brown was in denial that the lowest income people would be worse off, but when the income statements arrived his comment was, t'here has been a dreadful mistake.' So, Boy George needs challenging, the Labour party may be up in the polls but that is against a Coalition in a total mess. Don't hold your breath Anne!

Report this post »

CynicaloldGit says...
8:17am Thu 3 May 12

My wife, received a modest 3 quid aprox rise in her pension, are we better off? no, the council cut our housing benefit by a larger amount when we informed them of the change in circumstances.

Now then, remember the hooha when the last gov't supposedly gave a 75p rise?
Well, they didn't really, they gave 200 quid fuel allowance..non taxable, they gave free TV licences...non taxable....they gave free bus travel....non taxable. The fuel allowance alone was equal to a 4 quid a week rise, non taxable

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree