Blog

Filter blogs by:

All blogs  Tax & Spend  Central Government  Local Government  Freedom & Economics 

 

The TPA's year in review

The past year has been another stellar year for the TPA, even if it hasn’t been a great year for taxpayers. We’ve once again revealed massive amounts of wasted government spending and have held the public sector to account at every level. Here are our 12 highlights of the year.... Read more...

Welsh council tax reform: A step in the right direction?

by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns   “Change? Why do we need change? Aren’t things bad enough as they are?” This sentiment, originally expressed by the Victorian prime minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, is often shared by taxpayers whenever potential tax reforms are announced. The trend is for taxes to... Read more...

Mandarin millionaires: why we should care

By: Darwin Friend, head of research   Our latest research, mandarin millionaires, reveals the enormous pension pots of the UK’s 20 leading civil servants. These bureaucrats running UK government departments are sitting on a combined £21 million nest egg, with an average of £1.1 million per person.   Needless to... Read more...

Autumn statement 2023: The good and the bad

by Jonathan Eida, researcher   The autumn statement was a mixed bag for taxpayers. Here we set out the good and bad bits from the budget.   Five good things:   Full expensing tax break for businesses The Chancellor announced that businesses will be able to deduct the full cost... Read more...

The TPA's autumn statement wish list

By: Rory Meakin, research fellow   What should chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, do on tax at today's autumn statement? The TPA's Single Income Tax outlines our ideal taxation system. But here is how he could make a start: Acknowledge how damaging the tax burden has become and how it's choking off... Read more...

Counting the costs of Labour’s private school VAT plans

by Penny Hampden-Turner   Following a relatively light King’s Speech, many are naturally looking to Labour’s policies to see how they contrast. One potential pledge from Labour has pricked the ears of parents who have children in, or are planning to send children to, private school. This is Labour’s promise... Read more...

Four takeaways from the King’s Speech

By Jonathan Eida, researcher   Tuesday marked King Charles’ first King’s Speech. Amongst all the pageantry came the political agenda for the coming months. There was little for households bearing the weight of a 70-year high tax burden to feel overly enthusiastic about, but here are four things that stood... Read more...

The World Health Organisation and tobacco warnings

by Benjamin Elks, operations manager   The World Health Organisation seems to be compensating for recent failings over COVID-19 by focusing on inconsequential, trivial issues, much like an overzealous parent. In the current climate of increasing tobacco restrictions, some may not be surprised to learn that the WHO is advocating... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: September and October 2023

Taxes aren’t going up, the chancellor insists. That would be difficult to stomach at any point, but particularly during a cost of living crisis, when the tax burden is one of the biggest strains on household budgets. It’s made even worse when there’s endless reports of the enormous waste that... Read more...

The UK slides down the tax rankings

By: Joanna Marchong, intern at the TaxPayers' Alliance   The Tax Foundation has published its updated figures for the annual International Tax Competitiveness Index. The purpose of the report is to compare and rank how well OECD countries promote economic growth and investment through competitiveness, dictated by the effectiveness of... Read more...

Sunak’s smoking ban will make children of 40 year olds

By Benjamin Elks, operations manager   When the prime minister stood up at the Conservative Party Conference, he promised to set out his vision of change for the country.   Perhaps the most radical proposal from Sunak was a plan to create a “smoke free generation” with the age for... Read more...

ThinkTent 2023: The best bits according to the TPA team

This week, the TPA team travelled up to Manchester to host this year’s ThinkTent; an annual array of panel discussions and interviews hosted in conjunction with the Institute of Economic Affairs across Conservative Party Conference. Here are some of the highlights picked out by our team members from three days... Read more...

Bleak outlook for taxpayers ahead of Conservative Party Conference

by Conor Holohan, media campaign manager   Once the TPA gang had finished loading up the van destined for Conservative Party Conference in Manchester with boxes of our lights, cameras and microphones, we returned to our desks, slightly out of breath, to some alarming news.    The Institute for Fiscal... Read more...

A car-free world would be a nightmare, not a dream

By Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK and London mayoral candidate for Reform UK This week’s pronouncement by Rishi Sunak in moving the sales ban of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 is a welcome reprise from the years of relentless political pressure on the motorist.    It... Read more...

The War on Waste Blog: July and August 2023

The summer months were quiet for some, but not for the TPA’s war on waste campaign. We continued to uncover shocking examples of wasted taxpayers’ cash, right across the public sector.   As holiday-makers were jetting off on their holidays, we revealed in a front-page story that a second prime... Read more...

ULEZ expansion is more about money than clean air

By Jonathan Eida, researcher   Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) expanded to cover all London boroughs this week. This regressive levy will cost drivers £12.50 a day and will not make significant headway in terms of cleaning up London’s air. Khan should be up front and admit that... Read more...

Stop the clock off spreading

By: Olivia O'Mahony, intern at the TaxPayers' Alliance   We at the TaxPayers' Alliance have written to every council leader across the UK to ask them to pledge not to introduce a four-day week for staff during their leadership. Taxpayers deserve reassurance that they won’t be paying for a part-time... Read more...

Why voters need a right to recall

By: Conor Holohan, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance   There has been no shortage of MP scandals in recent years. Fifteen MPs are currently whipless for a range of alleged reasons, some of which are of the headline-grabbing variety. By-elections have also been held after MPs chose to... Read more...

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience.  More info. Okay