UK Fabians say raise taxes on elderly

The Daily Mail reports:

Pensioners’ taxes should increase, their benefits be cut, and a tax on property wealth should be introduced in order to share the pain of austerity with today’s hard-up workers, a think-tank said today. 

The income gap between pensioners and workers has shrunk massively in the last few decades, so taxes should be raised on those in retirement, the Fabian Society said.

Middle-income working households enjoyed an income 93 per cent above that of middle-income retired households when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, but that figure is now 37 per cent.

I don’t think we should raise taxes on the elderly, but I do think NZ Superannuation should be means tested and linked to the rate of inflation rather than the average wage. Otherwise the gap between it another benefits will continue to grow significantly.

‘Old age is no longer a proxy for poverty’, the Fabian Society said. ‘In public policy and deficit reduction measures, ministers should adopt a presumption of equality across age groups.

‘In financial terms alone, older people are no longer distinct, and blanket policies favouring them should be reviewed.’

I agree.