Martin Lewis attacks Labour over risk of pension tax raid

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis slammed Labour's tax stance as 'disingenuous' after the party failed to rule out scrapping the 25% tax-free pension allowance.

By Samantha Leathers, Lifestyle Reporter

Martin Lewis

Martin Lewis claimed Labour's reaction to tax questions was 'disingenuous' (Image: ITV)

Martin Lewis did not receive the answers he was hoping for during an interview with Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall.

In a revealing chat with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis ahead of the upcoming general election, questions about a potential tax raid on pensions were, he felt, left unanswered.

Despite pressing for clarifications about the future of the 25% tax-free allowance on pensions, ambiguous replies were all he felt he got.

Quizzed about possibly scrapping the allowance that allows Britons to withdraw a quarter of their pension pot free from tax charges, Ms Kendall avoided giving a definitive answer.

She claimed: "We have set out all of our plans in the manifesto. There is nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes."

Martin Lewis

The Money Saving Expert spoke to Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall (Image: ITV)

However, during the discussion on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Martin tagged her response as "disingenuous" since the party could choose to implement changes outside of their manifesto promises.

He persisted in his questioning, but Ms Kendall stood her ground, saying: "I'm being completely straight and honest. There's nothing in our manifesto that requires us to make any other changes. We have absolutely no plans for any other changes on taxes than is in our manifesto."

The current Labour manifesto has addressed tax matters with a promise to maintain current rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT.

However, potential alterations to other taxes such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax and council tax have not been discussed.

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