The Government plans to charge 22% tax on interest paid for cash held within stocks and shares ISA, to stop savers trying to circumvent the new rules on ISA savings that limit cash savings to £12,000. OAPs are exempt from the limit and we believe they should be exempt from the tax.

OAPs can have a mixture of savings accounts with a bias towards cash savings; however, many take advantage of generous cash savings rates within stocks and shares ISAs that allow them to hold amounts of cash and stocks and shares in the same account and have made forward plans depending upon this. The ISA system was always a tax free savings system that we believe now appears to be in danger of being seriously eroded and complicated: taxation on interest within an ISA should be exempt for OAPs.