And it is not just income tax which has increased. Council tax has increased by more than the rate of inflation each year for the last several years. I think mine has nearly doubled in the years since I retired but of course my pension hasn't doubled in the same time :-( Many pensioners are finding it next to impossible to meet increased council taxes. We wouldn't mind quite as much if our various taxes gave us improved services in health, education, public transport, policing etc but they don't.
On top of that there have been great increases in indirect taxation - petrol has been mentioned, cigarettes and alcohol have also been hit and there are more. the rationale behind petrol taxes is they will force us onto public transport but efficient, clean and safe transport systems are not in place. Without my car I couldn't attend lace classes (one hour's drive away), lace days (either half an hour or three quartes of ha hour away) and many other things. And all the indirest taxation hits those on the lowest incomes hardest. Farm labourers, for example, are poorly paid and yet must have a car as many of them live in areas with no public transportion in place. Patricia in Wales [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]