At Prime Ministers’ Questions yesterday, the man himself spoke about something that doesn’t actually exist. Responding to a question from Mark Spencer, David Cameron suggested that the Robin Hood railway line would benefit from 'government money'. As he should know, every penny that the government spends comes from taxpayers current or... Read more...
On Monday the TPA published research on quangos and particularly who sits on their boards. These quangos can have vast budgets so it is vital that there is greater transparency over who controls so much taxpayers’ money. What we found raised some eyebrows and the research attracted a fair bit... Read more...
As we have previously made clear, the TaxPayers’ Alliance is not campaigning for either side in the impending EU referendum. But over the years the TPA has scrutinised a number of aspects of spending at a European Union level and as people seek facts on which to base their decision... Read more...
England is simply not windy enough for more turbines. That’s according to RenewableUK chief executive Hugh McNeal, who’s quoted in the Daily Mail today as saying that any further investment into English-based wind turbines wouldn’t be economically sensible.Regular readers of the TaxPayers’ Alliance blog will remember that this isn’t the... Read more...
Happy Tax Freedom Day! Today is the first day of the year that you start earning money for yourself! It has taken 154 days of 2016 for UK residents to earn enough money to solely pay all of their taxes. That is four days later than Tax Freedom Day in... Read more...
The House of Lords plays a crucial role in scrutinising the Government and its legislation – not least because so many bills leave the House of Commons not properly studied after being subject to strict timetabling. But unfortunately its members sometimes stand accused of taxpayer-funded extravagance. Last weekend’s Sunday Times reported the... Read more...
It has been revealed today that the EU paid a grand total of £675 million to criminals who made fraudulent aid claims in 2015. The majority of these claims coming from Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, some of the EU’s poorest states. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced that in 2015 1,442 allegations of fraud were... Read more...
New ONS statistics revealed today who paid how much tax in 2014-15. It showed that: The ten per cent of households with the lowest income paid the equivalent of 46.8 per cent of their salary to the taxman. In only London, the South East and East of England did the... Read more...
New figures released by the Office for National Statistics today show public sector net borrowing is £2 billion higher than previously estimated - in the last financial year £76 billion was added to the national debt. Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Missing targets has become the... Read more...
On Friday the TaxPayers' Alliance office and supporters in the South East took the train to Hastings in order to raise awareness of our campaign against wasteful spending. After meeting up at Hastings Station activists leafleted and spoke to the Hastings Observer outside of the new town hall before moving... Read more...
Having thought that there was finally to be some transparency over BBC salaries, it turns out that we are likely to be denied once again. The Government’s White Paper on the BBC’s future said that salaries over £450,000 would have to be revealed, but it now appears that there is... Read more...
The National Audit Office (NAO) warns that Whitehall’s efforts to streamline their services and save taxpayers’ money are not working. £90 million of savings have been made to date by outsourcing and transforming back office functions but the total cost of investment of the programme has been £94 million. Thus... Read more...
It's summer and the days are growing longer; it's the perfect time for an informal TPA catch-up in Aylesbury. If you're available to spend an hour or two debating the big political issues of the day come and join other TPA supporters for a pint next month: Date: Thursday 16th... Read more...
When the Bank of England's Chief Economist admits that he cannot make "the remotest sense" of most pension deals, we know there's a problem. Andrew Haldane was quoting a report which found six in 10 people did not feel they knew enough about pensions to confidently decide how to save... Read more...
The The TaxPayers' Alliance will be bringing their campaign to Hastings on Friday 20th May. At 12:30pm we'll be leafleting outside Hastings Town Hall, Queens Road, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 1QR.In the afternoon we're moving to the Hastings Friday Market at Stade Open Space, Rock-A-Nore Rd, Hastings TN34 at 2:30pm.Do... Read more...
Two new laws have been passed this week as a direct result of TPA campaigning which will save taxpayers' money — these are examples of how supporting our work, which has pushed for change, can lead to huge results. Trade Union Act Over the last 12 years, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has... Read more...
There was a great deal of media speculation over the weekend about the BBC’s competitive scheduling. While it now seems to be off the cards, the rumour was that prime BBC shows may be moved in order to avoid clashes with rival shows on other channels. Given the privileged position... Read more...
The remote island of St Helena was due to open its much needed new airport next month, but the project - which has come at a £250m cost to British taxpayers - has now been delayed indefinitely. While tests were carried out before the construction of the airport there are... Read more...
For all the chaos of the tax system over recent decades, one thing has remained remarkably consistent. As the graph below shows, the amount of tax raised as a percentage of GDP has remained remarkably stable at around 35 per cent despite huge changes to the thresholds and rates of... Read more...
Government ministers can often be heard citing statistics about the amount of tax being paid by the top 1 per cent of earners in the country. This is hardly surprising given the clamour for the richest to pay their “fair share” – a clamour which has grown louder because... Read more...
The Public Accounts Committee has released a widely covered report that makes several criticisms of the handling of humanitarian aid. Specifically it says that while the department is doing a good job overall: “The Department does not have a good understanding of the impact on its wider business when it moves staff... Read more...
Just a week after the government spent £6m on leaflets and £3m on a website telling the public why they would be better off voting to remain in the EU, the Treasury is set to publish a 200 page report setting out the costs and benefits of EU membership. The... Read more...
Welcome to our BBC Question Time liveblog! We'll be here and on Twitter during the show. Read more...
The news that Stoke Gifford Parish Council has decided to charge Parkrun to use a local park for hold its 5km running events there is downright absurd. Apparently, it would damage the path that the runners use… But this forgets that the local community is already hands the council money - £307,946 in... Read more...