For immediate release Responding to the estimated overrun of HS2’s Euston station, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “HS2 has moved from one farce to another. “The inability to deliver Euston within budget doesn’t bode well for the rest of the project. “Ministers should do... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to council tax rises, Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Councils have shown that when given an inch they’ll take a mile, hitting households with record rate rises during a cost of living crisis. “There has never been a better time... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the Budget, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Despite looking good on the surface, under the bonnet this Budget is full of problems for taxpayers. “The chancellor has identified a number of structural weaknesses in the UK economy and has rightly... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports that the chancellor is preparing to raise allowances for pension savings, Phil Basey, head of research of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Raising pension allowances would be a step in the right direction. "These taxes on pension pots punish those who want to work... Read more...
CORRECTION: ADDED EMBARGO Embargoed: 00:01 Saturday 11 March 2023 New technology and shifting preferences threaten to disrupt the current tax system in the near future. Landmark paper shows that changes in behaviours over time, from shopping habits to electric vehicles, are all affecting a tax system designed for a... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports that HS2 construction will be delayed to save money, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “HS2 is on a collision course with the realities of poor budgeting and soaring prices. “With costs spiralling and the business case for HS2... Read more...
Embargoed: 22:30 Tuesday 28th February 2023 Responding to Labour’s claims that £26.8 billion has been wasted by the government since 2019, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “These latest findings put paid to the claim that there is no fat left to trim. “Time and again... Read more...
For immediate release In The Sunday Telegraph, the TaxPayers’ Alliance dynamic tax model suggests says the planned six per cent increase in corporation tax could cost £30.2 billion of lost GDP after a decade. Investment would be £11.9 billion higher after ten years if the rise was cancelled, highlighted... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Tuesday 14th February 2023 Responding to research from the County Councils Network (CCN) showing that three in four councils plan to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent, Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Surging council tax bills are the last thing hard-pressed... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the GPC files, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be shocked by the examples of waste uncovered in this investigation. “While households are toiling under a record tax burden, politicians and bureaucrats have been splashing our cash on frivolities... Read more...
NOTE: The original version of this press release said that Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provided translation services for the “Entean” language. The trust has contacted us to explain that they made an error in the original FOI response, which was supposed to read "Eritrean". We have amended the press release... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Michael Gove’s announcement that Croydon, Thurrock and Slough councils will be able to increase council tax by above the referendum threshold, John O’Connell of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the dismal failure of their local authority to... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the IMF’s growth forecasts, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “The cost of government crisis continues to hold back the UK economy. “With inflation continuing to pile pressure on hard-pressed families, the biggest tax burden in over 70 years merely compounds... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to the chancellor’s speech, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “The chancellor’s pledge to make Britain the most competitive tax regime in the world may ring hollow after years of punishing tax hikes. “Without concrete proposals, reheated rhetoric on spending restraint will... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports in The Sun of a possible scale back of HS2, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “HS2 has gone off the rails in spectacular fashion. “A scaling back of this project would be welcome, but taxpayers would still be... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to data showing PPE write-down costs to be £6 billion larger than previously forecast, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “These latest figures unmask the calamitous cost of the covid hangover. “While ministers had to work quickly during unprecedented times, the scale... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports the chancellor is planning to extend the 5p cut to fuel duty, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers would breathe a sigh of relief if the fuel duty freeze was extended. "With petrol prices still stubbornly high, the government... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 16 January 2023 The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that public bodies continue to hand over £1,221,222 per year to lobby group Stonewall, despite government departments being told to withdraw from the controversial Diversity Champions scheme. Membership of the scheme cost taxpayers at least £709,225 in 2021-22,... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Keir Starmer’s speech, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Keir Starmer gave some welcome words on spending restraint, but working Brits will need to see the detail. “Taxpayers can’t be expected to dip into their pockets again and again to prop... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reports of Michelle Donelan, secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, recommending against privatising Channel 4, Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will feel betrayed that the culture secretary has caved in to broadcasting big-wigs and backtracked... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Monday 2nd January 2023 Rail subsidies since the beginning of the COVID pandemic will have cost £42 billion by March 2023, according to new research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. That includes £30 billion in additional subsidies to cover for COVID disruption. This amounts to around £1,300 for... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to reporting in The Guardian, that just £18 million of up to £4 billion in PPE fraud has been recouped, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “We all know that the government had to act quickly to secure and supply PPE when... Read more...
Embargoed: 00:01 Thursday 15th December 2022 With strikes grinding Britain to a halt, new TPA research puts pay demands in context, with the public sector growing in size every quarter for four years. The pandemic only partly explains the growth in headcount of 426,000 since September 2018. The DVLA, which... Read more...
For immediate release Responding to Gordon Brown’s Commission on the UK’s Future, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Gordon Brown is right to point to the enormous savings that could be made by moving civil servants out of London. “Shifting government out of the capital would... Read more...