CORRECTION: In the regional breakdown the financial year listed is 2021-22. This has been amended to 2022-23, which is the correct year. CORRECTION: The first edition of this press release had Ards and North Down's chief executive as the highest remunerated official in Northern Ireland. This has now been... Read more...
For immediate release New data released today has revealed that average council tax bills have increased by £106 for band D taxpayers in England, the largest increase in council tax bills since 2003-04 when rates went up by £126. It is the second largest increase in cash terms since council... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01, Monday 18th March 2024 1,146 employees of city hall and its subsidiaries received over £100,000 in 2022-23 Transport for London alone accounted for 772 employees receiving over £100,000 while the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime saw its numbers increase from 80 to 301 The Mayoral precept has increased by 57 per cent since Sadiq Khan came... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the announcement of a 5.5 per cent pay rise for MPs, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers will be aghast at this inflation-busting pay rise for politicians.“While households struggle to stay above water due to frozen thresholds, MPs are set to... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Friday 8th March 2024 The UK’s real national debt is much higher than suggested by Wednesday’s budget figures, at £12.1 trillion in 2024-25. This is over £180,000 per person The total debt, which includes PFI and pension liabilities, is more than four times the size of the... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Pembrokeshire county council passing an amended council tax rise of 12.5 per cent after a TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign, Benjamin Elks, grassroots development manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Local residents will be giving a sigh of relief that this record rate rise, the highest... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the spring budget, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Alongside some wins for motorists, pub-goers and workers it was encouraging to hear the chancellor talk about a simpler tax system, given much of the pressure on taxpayers comes from complexity.“That said, taxes overall... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports that Jeremy Hunt will tell councils to cut diversity schemes, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:“Taxpayers are sick of pumping in money to the diversity industry only to be told that their local authority is cash-strapped and council tax will have... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 4th March 2024 TPA analysis of ONS data reveals the lifetime tax bill for average households reached over £1.2 million in 2021-22. The poorest households will work 23 years to pay off their tax bill, leaving 22 years of income for themselves. Average households are set... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01, Wednesday 28th February 2024 Pembrokeshire county council’s proposed 16 per cent council tax increase would be largest in Wales since 2000-01 Rise would mean additional £219 per year on band D bills and £170 on band A bills TPA campaigners will be in Pembrokeshire to campaign against the... Read more...
For immediate release South Cambridgeshire District Council trial to continue without vote at full council, breaking promises made by council leader Saving on agency staff significantly revised down from £1 million at start of trial to £776,000 to £434,000 TPA accuses council of continuing 4-day week experiment “by stealth”... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to ONS figures which revealed that January was the largest monthly surplus for the exchequer since records began, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “A record high tax burden is filling the Treasury’s coffers like never before, as inflation and frozen thresholds... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to new ONS figures confirming that the UK has entered a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP decline, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be right to blame the government for a mess largely of its own making.... Read more...
For immediate release Campaigners from the Taxpayers’ Alliance are urging the chancellor to cut income tax at the upcoming budget. The TPA team protested outside of the HM Treasury building holding a banner that read “ Give taxpayers a break!” According to new research by the Taxpayers’ Alliance,... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to an announcement that junior doctors will strike for five more days, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Brits are growing impatient for a return to the fully-functioning health service that they deserve. “Whilst the right to strike is important, doctors are... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01, Friday 9th February 2024 Number of people paying income tax has increased by 4.5 million since 2010 Of that number, an additional 1.7 million people are paying the basic rate of income tax Since thresholds were frozen in 2021-22 The largest percentage increases in the number of new... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to warnings from the chancellor that there is limited room for tax cuts, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will feel desperately let down if Jeremy Hunt doesn’t walk the walk when it comes to reducing the impact of income tax.... Read more...
Embargoed until 00:01, Friday 26th January 2024 A review of more than 40 academic studies shows that the optimal tax burden for economic growth cluster between 20 and 30 per cent of GDP The UK’s tax burden currently stands at 36 per cent of GDP - and the chancellor... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to findings from the Office of Budget Responsibility that the UK government borrowed £5 billion less than expected in the year to December, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be encouraged to hear that there are billions in the bank.... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to a BBC report into council debt that shows that UK councils owe a total of £97.8 billion to lenders, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will feel bewildered at the sheer scale of debt that councils have accrued. “Despite years... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Tuesday 16th January 2024 Responding to the head of the National Audit Office’s annual speech, in which he calls for productivity boosts to save tens of billions of pounds in public expenditure, Darwin Friend, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Short-term thinking and poor systems management... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to figures confirmed by the HS2 executive chairman of HS2 costs soaring to over £66 billion, Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “The continued soaring costs of HS2 are a slap in the face for taxpayers. “Even with the termination of... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to revelations of South Cambridgeshire District Council failing to publish data or produce a business case for the four-day week trial, Elliot Keck, head of campaigns of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “South Cambridgeshire residents are being let down by this reckless and unfair trial. “Opaque... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to an upcoming week of London Underground strikes conducted by RMT, Darwin Friend, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Londoners will be seething at a week of severe commuter disruption. “With TfL overseeing an already bloated pay-bill, hard-pressed taxpayers are bound to wonder how... Read more...