Strip pensioners of free bus passes, says think tank Almost half of the £15 billion could be raised by halving higher rate pension tax relief and the rest from taking away winter fuel payments and free television licences from wealthier pensioners. Ian Mulheirn, director of the foundation and author of the report, said: "The political debate on the economy has become unhelpfully polarised. By changing the composition of government taxation and spending, rather than altering the size and speed of cuts, the Chancellor can make his existing plan much more growth-friendly. By refreshing our infrastructure, this plan would also lay the sorely needed foundations of the new economy that must emerge from the crash.