The BBC’s latest Reality Check article has investigated suggestions that the Chancellor’s forthcoming Budget could discriminate against older taxpayers.
Speculation is mounting that Philip Hammond intends to introduce a reduced rate of National Insurance (NI) for younger people, which would be funded by cutting pension relief for older Britons.
The BBC acknowledges that it is impossible to know for sure if the policy will be implemented or, if it is, how it will work in practice.
But its analysis confirms that while any such move may prove controversial, it would not be illegal and there are in fact a number of precedents for people paying more or less tax depending on their age.
A key difference is that many arrangements have previously been tilted in favour of older voters.
Up until 2016, over 65s were allowed to keep more money tax-free and it remains the case that those drawing a state pension no longer make NI contributions.
Similarly, minimum wage laws vary depending on a person’s age, with younger workers entitled to slightly less.
With this in mind, the policies which it is said Mr Hammond is considering would face no threat of a legal challenge. But there would nonetheless be fierce debate about the relative merits of the strategy.
Reality Check said: “There is very little economic justification for allowing young people to pay a reduced National Insurance rate according to a spokesman for independent think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
“The IFS says government usually has one of two main aims when reducing taxes for a particular group: to change their behaviour and to distribute money more fairly
“If the aim is to change behaviour – in the case of National Insurance contributions, probably to encourage people to enter or stay in the workplace – certain groups are more ‘responsive’ to tax cuts than others.”