Granny's tax allowance removal would have happened sometime...but it looks appalling.

The big fuss from the budget turned out not to be the cut of the highest rate of tax, from 50% to 45%, but instead the freezing of age related personal allowances (let's call them APAs) for those over 65, or the 'Granny Tax' as it was so quickly dubbed.

When you think about it, the removal of the APAs was probably inevitable. My theory would be that the reason that they were in place was to ensure that, when personal allowances were low, those that received the state pension alone, with no other income, were not required to pay tax. This would be sensible, making people pay tax on a state pension would cost too much to administer for starters, not withstanding that it is patently unfair.

Now that the personal allowances have risen to a level where this is no longer an issue (basic state pension, £140 pw, £7280 pa) then it makes sense to remove the disparity, and a Government of any hue was going to do it sometime.

What makes it look so bad is the juxtoposition with the tax cut for the richest 1% in society. Surely it should not have gone un-noticed in Tory central office that they were taking money from pensioners and giving it to their mates? The politics of cutting that rate were bad enough (and for what it's worth I think it should have stayed for the length of this Parliament) but to couple it with APAs removal...crazy!

This surely presents an opportunity for Lib Dems to gain back some ground? Pre-budget Tim Farron made it very clear to BBC2 that the cut in the top rate was Tory policy, hinting they were somehow obsessed by it. This division must be drawn again and again, as well as pointing out that the allowance has been withdrawn only because it's intention is now obsolete thanks to a Lib Dem policy. It's certainly the argument I'd be making.