Young 'face greater tax burden'

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Young people could face a massive squeeze on their finances in the next few years, according to a report from the political think tank Reform.

Taxes, repayment of student debt and compulsory pension contributions may produce an effective tax rate of 48% for some of them, the report says.

The survey suggested two-thirds of voters think young people are having a harder time than their parents.

The report calls them IPODS - insecure, pressured, over-taxed and debt-ridden.

"Young people are under increasing pressure from rising debt, low earnings growth and low savings and face extreme difficulty in entering the housing market," said Professor Nick Bosanquet of Imperial College London, one of the report's authors.

Increasing burden

The report by Reform criticises the government's plans to reform the state pension system, claiming this will make things worse for the younger generation.

It calls the plans a "very bad deal for young people" as older people - those over 47 - will gain from an eventual higher state pension without having to pay for it.

The cost, it says, will fall on those below that age group who will also face a further burden in the shape of the forthcoming National Pensions Savings Scheme.

This will recruit all workers who are not in an occupational pension scheme - unless they opt out - but will charge them an additional 3% of their salary each year.

The poll found that while 50% of people thought the tax burden on the young was unfair, 45% disagreed.