The problem with the above article is that it assumes that this change (effectively a cut) will level the playing field. However since it seems to based on 'justifying' a tax cut for the wealthy this old v young is irrellevant. It's rich v poor.

BTW Given the way things are going the Governments plan is to expand the deficit.

I suspect the freezing of pensioners allowance will only worry those with something to worry about . Do i look bothered ?

Letting inflation be the thief of time and the fall guy didn't work for George this time.
Our group of oldies knew immediately that George was pulling a fast one - the young heir apparent.
Granny basher. Wot about Granddads?
We all know that crudely the over 55s own the bulk of the UK - conservatively 60%. However, a goodly proportion of the older generation are also the poorest in the UK.
We have listened to eminent economists claiming that many people have been taken out of 'tax'.
Surprise, surprise, when we discovered we still had to pay that flat tax, stealth tax as the Tories named it, VAT.
Oh, and don't forget the old-time rates, which became a tax on the community thanks to Michael Haseltine.
Mike must be one of the undead - Osborne is now appointing him head cook and bottle washer.
Some of us are housing association tenants who will never own the bricks and mortar they live in - yet we pay the same as home-owners. Consume the same services, yes - but community tax in much the same way as rates is based on property valuation.
Yes, it's not that far from a flat tax either.
Rich is rich - pensioner does not come into it. Most pensioners are poor or near poor. Confusing the issue by mentioning 'Rich pensioners' doesn't help.
Everybody gets old - even the rich.
We are still happy to see the rich(pensioner) get it where it hurts and damn the expense.
Did the Accountants predict this sleight of hand?

Generation Z

There is one complication to pensioners tax affairs, the way the tax code is worked out as the OAP is not taxed before being received by pensioner, but it is taxable. So the revenue gather the pension income for every pensioner from Minister of pensions (All pensioners have an individual pension, unlike the child allowance which is the same for all}. The revenue deducts the individual's pension from his/her personal allowance, and that forms the basis of the pensioners tax code on any other income they have. For those who remember the revenue's problems with under/overpaid tax over a number of years discovered last year when a new computer was bought into play, this was principally involved with this calculation. My wife is repaying money for one year, and got a refund for another. Simplification is needed.

I don't object particularly to the removal of this allowance. I do object, though, to Osborne's description of his action as a 'simplification' and his insistence that 'no one will be worse off in cash terms' - while the treasury claims it will save £1 billion each year.

Same moral pygmies in Government as in the Banks!

I repeat, Taggart, you have a problem. How do you feel about blacks and gays?

Where is the windfall gain from the house price boom? So I bought a house. All I can do is live in it, it doesn't put petrol in the car or steak on the table.

And who do you think is paying for the record low interest rates the young are enjoying now but we savers? In buying my 'house boom' property I saw interest rates of 15% and never less than 8% over 30years.

Between record low interest rates and high inflation, boosted by QE, I reckon the last three years has cost me about 60K on my savings. Not a bad contribution to tackling the deficit methinks!! And that doesn't include the income tax, VAT etc paid like everybody else.

If the old dears are not willing to 'call it a day' after three score years and ten - then YES - make the old farts pay !

Mr Osborne claims the pensioners are getting the biggest increase for many years but he forgets to mention it was triggered by high inflation, probably due to his government's policy of QE. Pensioners have also taken the hit on their savings with low interest rates and high inflation, and of course they have to pay the increased VAT like everyone else. Meanwhile Mr Osborne gives his friends, the super-rich on bloated salaries, a massive increase in their take home pay.

Freezing the threshold for those over 65 will mean that, when the basic threshold is raised for everyone in the next couple of years any pensioner with an income of over £12500 lose out. I do not describe that income as rich.

Arguing about who is the most deserving, the least well off is simply falling into a Tory trap. Divide and rule. This government is great at setting sections of society against each other. So far, we've had public sector against private; the employed against the unemployed; north versus south; combined with welfare and disability bashing. Now, it's young against old. While we are divvying up the pain, the rich are making hay and laughing all the way to the bank.

This whole granny tax debate has taken the attention away from just how hypocritical the whole Tory attitude is. While Gideon is preaching about stopping tax avoidance, he is fiddling with the tax haven rules , so that in the next tax year, this April, multi-nationals can avoid paying tax in other countries. It will cost the British taxpayer £1 billion and the developing nations £4 billion.

99% of us are in it together and as long as we argue amongst ourselves about who is the worst off, Gideon and his millionaire backers will continue to hold sway.