Gordon Brown knew that he was on to a winner with this one because of its stealthy nature.
Few pension plan investors would have appreciated the impact of the removal of the dividend tax credit, and now we have some numbers to bring it to life.
Politicians of all shades constantly kick the political football that is pensions, but few are prepared to admit the damage they have done with their ill thought-through changes.
Mr Hazell’s estimate of a £230bn shortfall in pension fund values as a result of this tax raid is probably about right, and of course it continues.
The current government has little, if any, incentive to reverse the situation – after all, it needs every tax pound it can lay its hands on, hence the Budget announcements about access to pension funds from next April.
The one downside to the article was that Mr Hazell cannot seem to avoid the need for a pejorative word.
In this case he mentioned that the £230bn needs to be adjusted to take into account charges “snatched” from the funds.
Shame that, because otherwise his analysis was spot on.
Nick Bamford
Chartered financial planner and executive director, Informed Choice
Cranleigh, Surrey
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