By Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Income tax wasn’t introduced until the end of the 18th century; and at that time, it was supposed to be temporary! It was created to fund the Napoleonic wars, but over 200 years later, it is still with us.... Read more...
What is council tax? Council tax is a tax charged to the occupiers of residential property by local authorities. It was introduced in Great Britain in 1993 to replace the community charge (commonly known as the ‘poll tax’), which replaced domestic rates in 1990 in England and Wales (and in... Read more...
by Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Through the 1970s and 80s, inflation was a major issue in Britain. Inflation peaked at 24 per cent in 1974 and hit a low of 0.37 per cent in 2015. In 1997, the Bank of England (BoE) was granted independence... Read more...
Last Tuesday was just another day in lockdown to most, but for us at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, it was a big day. It was dubbed by the press ‘Tax Day’, as the Treasury released more than 30 separate tax consultations and updates. Most of the announcements were somewhat underwhelming, but... Read more...
by Freya Stear, operations assistant Last night, councillors in my borough of Tower Hamlets in East London voted yet again for an increase in the basic allowance that they receive. Only two councillors, Conservative Group Leader, Peter Golds and Independent Conservative, Andrew Wood abstained. Against a backdrop of a... Read more...
By Michael Swadling of the Croydon Constitutionalists I have always been a believer in the idea that whilst you might not agree with someone’s methods, it’s best to assume that their motives are good. Being a resident of the London Borough of Croydon, however, is enough to test anyone’s... Read more...
By Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager NHS Test and Trace has become the latest arena for the debate around wasteful government spending. The recent report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) doesn’t pull its punches, and offers some damning insights. After the bizarre initial decision to pursue a... Read more...
Throughout this unprecedented public health crisis, the efforts of our healthcare professionals have remained at the forefront of the nation’s conscience. This widespread feeling of gratitude has been encapsulated by national claps, astonishing charity drives and windows across the country emblazoned with the letters “NHS”. In many ways, the health... Read more...
By Rory Meakin The budget is almost upon us. As ever, the TaxPayers’ Alliance will be reminding the chancellor that what we really need is a recovery budget, not childish threats of tax rises. But the reports of potential personal allowance changes or pension raids sound eerily familiar, as... Read more...
Guest blog by Angus Gillan The housing market is arguably the greatest driver of intergenerational inequality in Britain and one of the most prominent socio-economic challenges. Home ownership is popular yet out of reach for many. Young people see affordable housing as a key issue that could improve their... Read more...
By Policy Analyst, Jeremy Hutton At the TPA, we consider it our duty to call out wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money wherever we see it, whether that be foreign aid largesse, councils gambling on commercial properties or the government ploughing ahead with exorbitant projects like HS2 or the Stonehenge... Read more...
By Scott Simmonds, researcher Here at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, we regularly highlight examples of wasteful spending in the higher education sector. From the University Rich List to exposing vice-chancellors’ costly cars and ritzy residences, we routinely reveal the lavish spending that comes from university budgets. So we looked at... Read more...
by Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance At first glance, 31 January isn’t a date to send a shudder down your spine. But for millions of Brits, its arrival in the calendar is most unwelcome. It’s the deadline by which taxpayers have to submit their Self... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, Policy Analyst Since 2015, the Conservative Party have not had to worry much about Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition outside of general election campaigns. Indeed, the principal opposition has often come from the Tories’ own benches. Delivering the annual Mais lecture earlier this month - the... Read more...
At the end of November, we finally unveiled the results of our months-long investigation with the Daily Mail. The front page series revealed the £5.6bn of waste which our teams had uncovered in a mountain of thousands of FOIs, public records and government releases. The stellar Daily Mail team,... Read more...
By Scott Simmonds, researcher Read more...
By Danielle Boxall, Media Campaign Manager If there’s one thing that drives motorists round the bend more than any other, it’s potholes. So potty in fact, that a recent RAC survey found it was UK drivers’ number one annoyance. It’s such a national obsession that every year on 15... Read more...
By Policy Analyst, Jeremy Hutton It has emerged that the government is set to shelve plans to reform the BBC. Despite widespread public support and promises made throughout the general election campaign last year - the PM looks set to u-turn on decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee. According to... Read more...
Relentless campaigning in 2020 by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has resulted in many fantastic policy victories; from the abolition of Public Health England, reducing the foreign aid budget, freezing MPs’ pay and uncovering £5.6 billion of government waste as part of a special investigation with the Daily Mail. Although these wins... Read more...
By Kieran Neild-Ali, Grassroots Assistant The TaxPayers’ Alliance has kept a close eye on PPE contracts ever since the start of the pandemic. In August, we denounced the government over unaccountable government contracts which ignored its own competitive tendering processes. This resulted in duff contracts being awarded to unreliable... Read more...
By Kieran Neild-Ali, grassroots assistant at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Council tax may be one of the most overlooked issues in Britain. The national media thinks it’s dull. Westminster doesn’t care, because they believe it is someone else’s problem. But it's a huge issue for almost every taxpayer. In our... Read more...
By Jeremy Hutton, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance Following years of unabated campaigning by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the UK’s international development budget has been cut, and rightly so. Just as our polling from 2019 showed, taxpayers have supported this, recognising what many politicians do not: that an over-sized aid... Read more...
By Sara Rainwater, Operations Director Buying a home is one of the most exciting - yet often most stressful - times in a person’s life. The overly complex buying and selling process in England can take its toll on even the most resilient of people. I’ve moved country, done... Read more...
By Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance The National Audit Office published its report on government procurement during the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday. It highlights a number of issues around public sector procurement - of which the TPA has long called for serious reform. But just how... Read more...