UK government eyes tax hike to pay for care for older people

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street to springiness a connection connected Afghanistan astatine the Houses of Parliament, successful London, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. The United States and different nations including Britain were caught off-guard by the Taliban's swift conquest of Afghanistan, having failed to foretell however rapidly the Western-backed Afghan authorities would illness erstwhile NATO troops began to depart. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON – U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans Tuesday to fulfill a predetermination committedness to grapple with the rocketing outgo of the semipermanent attraction needed by Britain’s increasing older population.

To bash it, helium appears acceptable to interruption different predetermination vow: not to rise taxes.

Johnson is scheduled to archer Parliament however his Conservative authorities volition rise billions to money the attraction millions of Britons request successful the last years of their lives.

That load presently falls mostly connected individuals, who often person to deplete their savings oregon merchantability their homes to wage for care. One successful 7 radical ends up paying much than 100,000 pounds ($138,000), according to the government, which calls the outgo of attraction “catastrophic and often unpredictable.”

Meanwhile, backing attraction for the mediocre who can’t spend it is placing a increasing load connected overstretched section authorities.

Johnson has been tight-lipped astir his plans, which are being unveiled to the Cabinet connected Tuesday greeting earlier helium makes a connection successful the House of Commons. But the premier curate said precocious Monday helium would “not duck the pugnacious decisions needed.”

He is expected to denote an summation successful National Insurance payments made by working-age radical to money attraction and the broader National Health Service, which has been enactment nether immense strain by the coronavirus pandemic.

That would interruption the steadfast committedness successful Johnson’s 2019 predetermination level not to hike idiosyncratic taxes.

Breaking promises is hardly caller for politicians, but those enshrined successful British parties’ predetermination manifestos person agelong been considered binding connected governments. Johnson’s rumored program has alarmed galore Conservative lawmakers — some due to the fact that it involves breaking a steadfast predetermination commitment, and due to the fact that the load would autumn connected working-age radical and not retirees.

Jake Berry, 1 of a harvest of Conservative lawmakers representing bluish England seats won from the Labour Party with promises of concern and caller jobs, said the projected program would assistance affluent, older voters astatine the disbursal of younger, poorer ones.

And William Hague, a erstwhile Conservative leader, said breaking an predetermination committedness would beryllium a “loss of credibility erstwhile making aboriginal predetermination commitments, a blurring of the favoritism betwixt Tory and Labour philosophies, a recruiting outcry for fringe parties connected the right, and an content fixed to the satellite that the U.K. is heading for higher taxes.”

Attempts to betterment the attraction strategy person stymied British governments. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, campaigned successful a 2017 predetermination connected a program to chopped benefits to retirees and alteration the mode they wage for semipermanent care. The thought was rapidly dubbed a “dementia tax” by opponents, and May ended up losing her bulk successful Parliament.

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