140,000 pensioners are about to be hit with a shock tax demand

In the coming weeks many thousands of pensioners will receive a most unwelcome letter.

Having had no dealings with HM Revenue & Customs since they retired, one of those dreaded brown envelopes will land on their door mat.

In it will be a demand for unpaid income tax for 2023/24.

The policy of freezing the income tax personal allowance at £12,570 per year whilst pensions and other incomes have been rising has meant that millions more pensioners have been dragged into the tax net.

For those who have a company pension or other source of income which uses a tax code, HMRC should already have collected the right tax and no further action is required.

But if all your income comes from the state pension and your pension is now over the tax threshold, there is tax to be paid.

And for as long as the tax threshold stays frozen and pensions continue to rise, you will get another - larger - bill next year.

The recipients of these letters are by no means well off.

Research by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association reckons that a single pensioner needs an income of £14,400 per year for a minimum basic standard of living.

Many pensioners receiving these letters will be below that income level.

The Government needs to think again about taxing people at such low income levels.

The long-term freeze on tax allowances has made millions more people taxpayers, many of whom are on modest incomes.

It is time for a fresh look at the whole system.