Income tax on old age pensions
The Minister said recipients whose sole income is a Social Welfare old age pension owe no income tax, but figures are unavailable for pensioners with other income. Keating criticized the lack of statistics and questioned taxing pension income; the Chair called for an end to the argument.
asked the Minister for Finance the number of old age pensioners paying income tax on their pensions.
Comment on this
Any person whose sole income arises from an old age pension under the Social Welfare Acts is not liable to income tax. As regards social welfare pensioners who have other income, or pensioners in receipt of pensions from other sources, statistics are not available which would indicate how many of them are liable to income tax.
Comment on this
Is it not a strange society that makes people pay tax on their pensions, most of which are meagre, when the primary concern of the Government is to alleviate tax on wealth?
Comment on this
The Minister has no facts or figures because basically he does not care about this matter.
