Are you currently in receipt of much needed winter fuel allowance?

BBC Radio 4’s You and Your’s would like to speak with an expat some time next week about why they feel they need the WTA and to defend their allowance in face of recent UK press criticism as seen here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7246862/Record-number-of-British-expats-living-in-Europe-paid-winter-fuel-allowance.html

If you’re interested, give me a call on 0044 207 765 1923 or else drop me an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thanks!

Here we go again…the Telegraph (this time-it’s usually the Mail!) publishes a ‘How dare they claim’ article and the Beeb jumps on the bandwagon asking ex-pat retirees to justify and defend ‘why should they claim.’

Simple fact of the matter is that we, along with all retirees, have a right to this allowance. Its something we have paid into for all of our working lives and continue to do so through UK taxation. Far from removing this allowance it should be increased to a figure which more accurately reflects the costs of heating in the coldest places in the UK for all recipients.

Whilst it may be true that temperatures along the CDS, Almeria, Murcia, Valencia and the Costa Brava generally remain above 0C throughout the winter, one has only to venture inland about 20kms to find villages where night-time temps drop regularly to -5C to -10C, in much the same way as say Eastbourne and villages around Canterbury experience wild temperature differentials.

It should also be noted that electricity costs are pretty much the same in Spain as in the UK, so allowing for the exchange rate we are effectively paying 30% more for our electricity than we were three years ago.

In short the WFA goes some small way to offset the gross governmental mismanagement that has allowed the Sterling-Euro exchange rate to sink at times to 1:1. The effect of this has been to reduce the spending power or effective value of UK paid pensions by 30% over the last three years.

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair before him stated that if the exchange rate ever dropped below 1:1.3 he / they would consider going to the country in a referendum to join the Euro. In yet another broken promise this never happened. The Pound has been below 1:1.3 for the best part of two years.

Will the UK join the Euro? Of course not. There are far too many vested interests in retaining Sterling as a separate currency.

Would I be interested in being interviewed; No Way…theres about as much chance of that as Britain joining the Euro…

Personally I don’t agree with the payment.

Yes you may pay Taxes to the UK, but the level of tax does not reflect the true cost of services each individual uses.Paying taxes to the UK indicates your profiting from the UK and whether that is direct or indirect, has a cost to the UK govt.

I pay road tax and still have several pot holes on the road outside my home, I fear if I paid to have them sorted it would take my road tax many years to cover the cost, so screaming I’ll refuse to pay tax would be futile.

A fair system would see expats paying less tax and not taking the payment, after all, it was designed for people living in the UK.

I also think the UK govt should educate people, taxation is not an investment fund for us to use in the future. It covers real time costs incurred in the country and helps to fund welfare for people in need.

If Spanish people manage to live in Spain without a similar system then there is no excuse for a Brit, had the Spanish required this type of payment to there old that would make it easier as Expats could claim that.

I guess Spanish OAP’s are a different breed to us.

Santi once again acting as an agent provocateur...OK I’ll bite…

A fair system would see expats paying less tax and not taking the payment, after all, it was designed for people living in the UK

No… A fair system would see all pensioners liabilility to taxation direct and indirect stopped at retirement age, irrespective of where they live. After all you dont pay tax before you start work so why should you pay it after…?

I also think the UK govt should educate people, taxation is not an investment fund for us to use in the future. It covers real time costs incurred in the country and helps to fund welfare for people in need.

This is total bullshit…If this was truly the case, then our troops wouldn’t be in Afghanistan or Iraq getting shot up in conflicts that have nothing to do with the UK, the UK Health service would be run by people who care about patient health and not the bean counters and there wouldn’t be thousands of homeless sleeping under the stars and freezing to death whilst MP’s knowingly grab unlawful allowances for second or third homes.

Simple truth is that the WFA is not a tax allowance, it is not paid by the Taxman but rather the Pensions Service. In this respect payment into the National Insurance Scheme is an investment in the future.

I pay road tax and still have several pot holes on the road outside my home, I fear if I paid to have them sorted it would take my road tax many years to cover the cost, so screaming I?ll refuse to pay tax would be futile.

Fact is you have paid to have them sorted out; be it either via road tax or council tax. If the work is not completed then the council or government is in breach of contract. You should consider sueing in the small claims court!

Simple fact is that the government both national and local is too busy looking after it’s own to give a damn about the electorate.

WFA is a right not a priviledge.

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foxbat - 28 February 2010 05:27 AM

Santi once again acting as an agent provocateur...OK I’ll bite…

Its my opinion and I’m entitled to express that on a discussion forum, I’m not trying to cause an argument.

No… A fair system would see all pensioners liabilility to taxation direct and indirect stopped at retirement age, irrespective of where they live. After all you dont pay tax before you start work so why should you pay it after…?

You pay tax on income and expenditure.

This is total bullshit…If this was truly the case, then our troops wouldn’t be in Afghanistan or Iraq getting shot up in conflicts that have nothing to do with the UK, the UK Health service would be run by people who care about patient health and not the bean counters and there wouldn’t be thousands of homeless sleeping under the stars and freezing to death whilst MP’s knowingly grab unlawful allowances for second or third homes.

What the govt spends on conflict has nothing to do with this discussion.

Maybe the govt would be financial better off if they did not have to give money away to pensioners living in Spain.

Simple fact is that the government both national and local is too busy looking after it’s own to give a damn about the electorate.

WFA is a right not a priviledge.

The WFA was brought in as a voting incentive, the carrot in front of the electorate, its not a birth right and govt reserves the right to withdraw it at any time, there is no contract.

WFA is allowed then other rights should also be granted, but the whole point is to pay UK residents, Spanish residents gave up that right, so no this payment should not be made.

It should have been figured into the equation when a person leaves the UK concerning Taxation etc and if your not happy with the circumstances, then don’t leave.

Santi - 28 February 2010 05:29 PM

foxbat - 28 February 2010 05:27 AM

Santi once again acting as an agent provocateur...OK I’ll bite…

Its my opinion and I’m entitled to express that on a discussion forum, I’m not trying to cause an argument.

You are on the bias side as you no longer live in Spain anymore though….
However, I do agree with some of your points / for once at least.

DSB.

Santi - 27 February 2010 03:19 PM

I also think the UK govt should educate people, taxation is not an investment fund for us to use in the future. It covers real time costs incurred in the country and helps to fund welfare for people in need.

Not sure how much of this is a statement of momentary passion for the topic or a thought-out opinion, but I think it’s fair to say that along with providing social welfare for the people, we also put the funding and organization of defense, education and healthcare into the hands of those same bureaucrats. Therefore it would serve us best for them to ensure the tax money is invested well for the future, to provide stable and reliable government that survives and evens out the booms and busts.

But hell, I’m an Albertan who grew up with a Heritage fund that no one will touch, even when thousands go homeless in -30C weather. The government should damn well be investing for the future and be prepared to spend when the moment is most bleak.

The Expatriator - 01 March 2010 08:56 PM

Therefore it would serve us best for them to ensure the tax money is invested well for the future, to provide stable and reliable government that survives and evens out the booms and busts.

Another reason why the WFA needs reform.