The devolved Welsh Assembly Government continues to be lax with accounting for taxpayers’ money. Its flagship ‘Communities First’ programme, designed to aid those in deprived areas, has been caught napping again. After a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, it was discovered that there are a number of significant and inherent failings... Read more...
Exchequer Secretary David Gauke MP has set up a study group to consider the introduction in the UK of a General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR). With a new GAAR he hopes to raise billions in extra tax revenue. Tackling tax avoidance is successfully marketed as fighting crime or immoral behaviour. ... Read more...
The next hike in fuel duty is set to come into effect in April. But yesterday the Chancellor George Osborne hinted that he may not go ahead with it. Last week we showed that motorists were excessively taxed by £17.9 billion in 2008-09, projected to £22.3 billion in 2015-16. Motorists... Read more...
This morning The Telegraph carried an interview with Boris Johnson. He says that the Government should use March’s Budget to set out a plan for how they aim to cut taxes. The Mayor of London is shocked that the UK has higher personal tax rates than not only the US... Read more...
Click here to read the research note Click here for the full press releaseWould it be fair if Susan Boyle paid more tax than a banker who had earned the same amount of money? That's one of the hypothetical scenarios being presented to the newly formed 2020 Tax Commission. As... Read more...
Yesterday, I wrote about Bradford Council deciding to delay publishing its spending above £500. This morning I was interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds, who told me Leeds and Kirklees councils have not as yet published their spending. It seems those two councils will just meet the deadline, however all councils have had... Read more...
Well done to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, who today announced that they are cutting council tax for the second year in a row. As part of the Spending Review the Government promised to financially assist councils that froze council tax rates, it's superb that RBWM have gone... Read more...
With a sense of impending doom, TPA supporter John Martin brings us up to date on the Norfolk incinerator project. At the risk of repeating myself, when – figuratively speaking – I last set pen to paper Norfolk County Council (NCC) remained hell bent on acquiring itself an incinerator. It... Read more...
Time is almost running out for councils to publish all spending above £500. On 10 January, it was reported that with just three weeks to go, only 135 of the 326 English councils had so far complied. If some councils can manage it - including Hammersmith and Fulham who started... Read more...
All of a sudden everyone is talking about Ricardian Equivalence. Ed Balls yesterday on the Daily Politics. Anatole Kaletsky today in a Times column that has got Left Foot Forward incredibly excited. Balls didn't appear to have a clue what Ricardian Equivalence meant. Kaletsky at least understands the concept but... Read more...
Lord Taylor of Warwick woke up this morning knowing that his days as a free man could be numbered. Yesterday a jury found him guilty of fraudulently claiming expenses. The former peer had been on trial since Monday 17th of January over the personal expense claims he made totalling more... Read more...
This morning I have an article on the ConservativeHome website about the policies needed for economic growth. Essentially the Government need to take key opportunities to reduce the burden they impose on families and businesses without compromising on the fiscal adjustment. While I was writing that article yesterday though, an... Read more...
On 2 December, our non-job of the week was a Future Shape Programme Manager at North East Lincolnshire Council. We reported on the media coverage this received, and taxpayers in North East Lincolnshire were not impressed. This week we return to the same council who are advertising for three Integrated Service... Read more...
On January 17, the draft Statutory Instrument on how the cost of the implementation of the Digital Economy Act will be shared between rights holders and Internet Service Providers was laid before Parliament. The draft Statutory Instrument lays out the cost sharing of the implementation and it states that 75%... Read more...
I recently visited Bath council’s self-congratulatory ‘Treasure and Transform’ exhibition on the city’s future. Aside from the amusingly pointless design fluff of comparing Bath to a gentleman’s shoe or cricket ball, the nitty-gritty of the exhibition seemed to reinforce a feeling that despite our belt-tightening times, Bath & NES council... Read more...
For the first time the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released figures on public sector net debt (PSND) that include the cost of bailing out RBS and Lloyds. It adds an astonishing £1.3 trillion to the figure. Just to put that into context, back when Northern Rock and Bradford... Read more...
Reacting to the contraction found in the Office for National Statistics preliminary estimate of fourth quarter 2010 GDP growth, Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:"At this stage, with the impact of the snow so unclear and the figures subject to revision, the Office for National Statistics report of... Read more...
The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and their flagship Communities First project have been caught napping again. It has been previously highlighted by the TPA that WAG had to inject another £450,000 into Communities First teen-pregnancy hotspots, even though over £214m has been spent on areas to run projects including those to combat... Read more...
In a blog on Will Hutton’s Guardian article, Tim Worstall makes an interesting challenge to Will Hutton about the extent of property tax in the UK. Hutton claims that Britain is unwilling to tax property:“Britain must confront a taboo – our refusal to tax property.” [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Hard... Read more...
The influential Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called for stamp duty to be scrapped, arguing that the tax on home sales stops people moving homes for employment and leads to higher unemployment. The group has claimed that stamp duty is so harmful that we would be better... Read more...
In a post on Tuesday Chris Daniel pointed out that public spending cuts are vital. Which they are. And that councils should try to run leaner operations instead of passing cuts in central government grants straight to taxpayers. Which they should. You can't run a £100 billion structural deficit indefinitely... Read more...
Youth unemployment has risen to the highest level on record raising concerns about the effect of Britain’s tax system and employment laws on enterprise and employment opportunities. Figures released by the Office of National Statistics have shown unemployment among 16-24 year olds to have risen by 32,000 in the three... Read more...
The rising cost of fuel is imposing a substantial burden on many families. Today the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals the extent of the punishing tax burden that motorists are facing. New research finds that UK drivers are paying almost £18 billion a year in excessive motoring taxes.Click here for the press... Read more...
New research by London First has revealed that 60 per cent of 300 senior executives polled at overseas investors in London say their opinion of the capital as a business location has not been changed by the government’s plan for incremental 1 per cent annual cuts in corporation tax from... Read more...