Osborne accused of imposing £1bn ‘granny tax’ on the elderly

British chancellor George Osborne was last night accused of imposing a £1bn “granny tax” on pensioners as he used his budget to cut the 50p top rate for Britain’s wealthiest earners and lift thousands of low-paid workers out of taxation altogether.

Treasury acknowledged that 4.5 million pensioners will lose out as a result of the decision to phase out their age-related allowances.

Age UK said it was “disappointed” with the move, warning it could leave some pensioners £259 a year worse off.