by Jonathan Eida, researcher Holding local councils to account requires an understanding of their funding mechanisms. This blog serves to lift the lid on council funding and see what lies beneath. With this comes several significant takeaways. Mismanagement plays a significant role in defining council tax decisions. Croydon Council... Read more...
By Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager Channel 4 hangs over taxpayers like the sword of Damocles. While the corporation does not directly rely on government support for its day-to-day finances, what it does have is the assurance that should the coffers run dry, taxpayers will ultimately come to their... Read more...
Today is the London Underground's 161st anniversary, but it is unlikely many will be in a celebratory mood. The London Underground is the oldest transport system in the world, opening in 1863 with steam locomotives. It has since extended to a network which is 408 kilometres long, transporting Londoners across... Read more...
By: Mike Denham, chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance Now that it is (almost certainly) an election year, we are once again hearing talk of tax cuts from the government. The opposition is also hitting hard on tax messages. This should be good news for taxpayers, but it is important... Read more...
By: Mike Denham, chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance As reported in the Times last month, Guys and St Thomas’ have managed to slash waiting lists for some routine surgical procedures using an innovative system known as ‘high intensity theatre’ (HIT). Could this mean a happy new year for patients and... Read more...
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...
By: Penny Hampden-Turner Civil servants are once again hitting headlines, this time with the news that, not only will they have to work in the office, more of them are going to be expected to work in offices outside of London. As The Times reported, cabinet office minister John... Read more...
By Jonathan Eida, researcher Over the last few months several councils have gone bust. In this year alone, Birmingham, Nottingham and Woking councils have joined a growing list of local authorities that have issued Section 114 notices. Our research this week sheds light on the potential impact of councils going... Read more...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
by Elliot Keck, head of campaigns It’s safe to say that the covid inquiry this week has been more heat than light. It’s been entertaining for sure, and more expletive-laden than an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. But what have we really learnt? It’s difficult to argue with... Read more...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
By: Jeremy Havardi, director of B'nai B'rith The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, had numerous issues to discuss with his counterparts while visiting Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week. As always, security would have been high on the agenda. Recent years have seen an alarming rise in the number... Read more...
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...