In the wake of the 2017 general election, much commentary has focussed on the impact public spending cuts had on the result. Less attention has been paid to assessing by how much public spending has actually been reduced. Click the link here for our latest research note on government spending. Read more...
The House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee have reported back on their inquiry into government accounts - and how to ensure the taxpayer can properly scrutinise them. We are delighted that the Committee have taken several of our recommendations on board. You can read their full report... Read more...
For the tenth consecutive year, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has compiled the most comprehensive list of council employees in the UK whose total annual remuneration exceeds £100,000. This year’s Town Hall Rich List covers the 2014-15 and 2015-16 financial years, the most recent full years for which data is available.... Read more...
Facility time is paid time-off taken by trade union representatives to carry out ‘duties’. It has been the focus of major reforms in central and local government, as well as the civil service over the past few years. The TaxPayers’ Alliance has previously revealed how trade unions have received large... Read more...
Our submission to the Treasury Select Committee on the sustainability of the tax base. Read the submission here Read more...
The recent storm over business rates centres on the upcoming revaluation of commercial properties, which comes into effect on 1st April 2017. It is the first revaluation since 1st April 2010. and the valuation practice itself has changed in the wake of a 2015 judgement by the Supreme Court. Combined... Read more...
Despite the huge financial risks and recurring records of failure and late delivery, large infrastructure projects are much coveted by politicians seeking a legacy. There is too often scant regard for how much it will cost taxpayers. Bent Flyvbjerg, the Chair of Major Programme Management at Oxford University's Saïd Business... Read more...
To read the research paper, click here In 2010 the former Chancellor, George Osborne, called the tax system a ‘spaghetti bowl’. He was spot on: the UK tax system is hideously complicated, with far too many reliefs and exemptions meaning the Tolley’s tax guides now run to nearly 22,000 pages.... Read more...
To read the research paper, click here For the full dataset, click here With the large real-terms budget increases the NHS has become accustomed to no longer possible given the state of the public finances, the NHS desperately needs become more efficient. In the 2014 NHS Five Year Forward View,... Read more...
The government is reportedly considering plans to permit English local authorities to increase Council Tax to ease funding pressures on the social care system. Council Tax increases are an insufficient response to the significant demographic pressures facing public services. Of course, a big part of the solution lies in health... Read more...
When introducing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, the then Chancellor, George Osborne, added that the revenues from the tax would be “tied directly” to funding sport and other activities in schools. This briefing paper looks at the likely effects of the tax and associated spending on the public finances. Read... Read more...
For most people, buying something means working to pay for it. The more expensive something is, the longer we have to work to earn the money to buy it. But how much of the time we spend working to buy something is needed to pay for the purchase itself, and... Read more...