![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-09-at-13.50.00-550x345.png\")
<\/p>\nRachel Reeves posted this on Twitter this lunchtime:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This means 70% of all pensioners are going to have the winter fuel allowance restored after not having it for one year.<\/p>\n
30% will miss out.<\/p>\n
How is she going to find out who they are?<\/p>\n
Given the complexity of many taxpayers' affairs, there is no way she can do this from online tax filing, so what will the cost of excluding those not qualifying be?<\/p>\n
My suggestion is that it will be much more than the cost of paying the allowance to 100% of pensioners.<\/p>\n
And if a form is required, millions who deserve the payment will lose out.<\/p>\n
Labour really is determined to get everything wrong.<\/p>\n
Update:<\/strong><\/p>\n I now gather that excess payments to those with total income above \u00a335,000 will be collected via tax returns.<\/em><\/p>\n This creates a totally new tax threshold.<\/em><\/p>\n It might also require millions more pensioners to complete tax returns.<\/em><\/p>\n In turn, it will create vast amounts of extra work for HMRC and considerable need for additional correspondence.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n And, of course, all those who get this wrong could be fined.<\/em><\/p>\n If you wanted to create mayhem for a \u00a3200 allowance for 3.9 million people, you could not do it more effectively than this.<\/em><\/p>\n What a mess.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"