Should there be a tax for elderly care?

A powerful group of MPs has called for the introduction of a new tax for over-40s, in a bid to secure funding for elderly care.

The call for a “social care premium” came in a rare joint report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government and Health and Social Care Committees, which described the current system as “unsustainable”.

“We can no longer delay finding a fair and sustainable settlement for social care,” Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said.

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“Too many people are being left without the care and support they need and it is time for a decision to be made about how the costs are shared,” she continued.

Is the tax necessary?

The aim of the proposal is to ensure that the “personal elements” of social care, such as help with eating, dressing and washing, are available for free for the elderly, whether they receive that assistance at home or an aged care facility.

The proposal “echoes the funding of social care in Japan, which has the highest proportion of older people of any country”, the Times says.

The Independent reports that the fund could either “operate as an additional element of national insurance or through a separate mechanism, as happens in Germany”.

How would it work?

Under the cross-party proposal, payments would begin once a person turns 40 and continue beyond the age of 65, with the value of pensions and investments taken into account.

However, the report says that a minimum earnings threshold should be in place for the protection of low-income earners.