Philip Hammond mulling 'age tax' in bid to address 'intergenerational fairness’
2 min read
Philip Hammond is considering a “bold” new tax on older people in a bid to help address “intergenerational fairness” in the upcoming Budget, according to reports.
The Chancellor is said to be mulling tax breaks for workers in their 20s and 30s, paid for by cutting reliefs for older and wealthier workers.
One Whitehall source told the Daily Telegraph this was a “bold” attempt to “restack the deck for the next generation”.
The policy, critically dubbed the ‘Age Tax’, could prove contentious as it is likely to affect those who typically vote Conservative. The reports come just months after the ‘Dementia Tax’ faced a furious backlash and saw the Tories’ opinion poll lead plummet in the general election.
Senior Tories were quick to attack the new policy idea, with one telling The Sun the notion of taxing older voters was “madness”.
But George Freeman, who is the head of Theresa May’s policy unit, backed the plans as he called for a “New Deal for the Next Generation”.
He said: “We need to look at a new model of saving for a generation who will not benefit from the post-war model of national insurance.”
Mr Hammond has reportedly run the policy idea past Tory MPs in a bid to avoid a repeat of the National Insurance Contributions U-turn.
A Whitehall source said: “It is more of a question of rebalancing than just spending money. He is looking at things around regulation – at no cost to the exchequer – or rebalancing.
“There is a recognition of a need to make an offer to appeal to younger voters in some way. That has been falsely focused on students and student finances. It is a much broader thing."
Former universities minister Lord Willetts said: "I would welcome any tax cut which particularly helps younger people.
“Their pay has not been rising like it used to for previous generations and they face higher housing costs too.”
The reports come as Mr Hammond faces increasing hostility among some of the more hardline Brexiteers in the Tory party.
He was the subject of several attacks by Tory sources in this morning's newspapers, with one minister describing him as an “inept political operator in quite a crowded field” and a Tory grandee saying he was a“s***” who deserves to be “kicked down Whitehall”.
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