'A slip of the tongue' Labour admits Brown's TV gaffe on tax relief
UK - Gordon Brown's suggestion the Labour Party would extend its policy to restrict pensions tax relief to include people earning more than £100,000 was a "slip of the tongue", a Labour spokesman says.
The prime minister provoked confusion last night when he said Labour would "take away tax relief for those above £100,000 at a higher rate" as part of its deficit reduction plan.
The apparent announcement of a new policy in the Leaders' Debate sparked a furious reaction from experts in the industry.
Hargreaves Lansdown head of pensions research Tom McPhail said reducing the pensions tax relief threshold had been discussed prior to the budget - and admitted he would "assume the worst".
Barnett Waddingham partner Clive Grimley claimed the move - which would have affected 304,000 people - would have been an example of "yet another stealth tax".
However, the spokesman insisted the policy in the manifesto - which stated that the measure would apply to those earning more than £130,000 - still stood.
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