Tax Rebate

Between 1973 and 2004 we Thalidomiders were “taxed like millionaires", literally. We suffered the same rates of tax as millionaires because our payments from the Trust were treated as unearned income. Top rates of tax hit 98% during the period meaning that some people virtually got nothing from the Trust. Worse, the tax element was added to your income which meant that many of us were denied state benefits.

In 2004, this position was finally corrected after a beneficiary led campaign persuaded the government of the day to find a solution.

However, that solution did not work retrospectively, so we did not get our tax back for the preceding 30 years. We think that's wrong. Beneficiaries have paid thousands of pounds in tax that should never have been collected but has never been repaid. That's money that many of us could do with today.