At the Financial Times, economics editor Chris Giles laments pre-election tax pledges which restrict their ability to raise taxes once in power. And his argument in favour of simplifying tax by abolishing national insurance is a strong one for which the TaxPayers' Alliance has campaigned vigorously. But he also argues... Read more...
Ed Miliband has laid down an enormous tax mine in the election field with his proposal to abolish non-domiciled status. Non-dom status allows people with a connection to another country to elect pay a £50,000 charge to exempt from tax money earned outside the UK so long as that money... Read more...
How did you do at our April fools quiz? Or maybe you haven't taken it yet? We took some time to remember the most bizarre incidences of Government Waste and mixed in a couple of made up examples, but can you tell which ones are which? You can find it... Read more...
The TPA has long been concerned about the amount of taxpayer money spent involved in Manston Airport – an ex-RAF base in East Kent. After three successive commercial ventures failed to make a go of it, there has been sustained pressure for Thanet District Council (TDC) to acquire the airport... Read more...
This weekend, the TPA took part in Liberty League's Freedom Forum, the UK's largest gathering of pro-liberty students and young professionals, joining several hundred young people in campaigning against the debt being piled up on this generation. Read more...
It was a busy weekend for the TaxPayers' Alliance as, on Saturday, we launched our new campaign: Generation Screwed. Read more...
Transparency data shows that Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) has offered grants totalling over £3.5 billion of taxpayers’ money in the past decade. Read more...
We've been saying for years that the UK's tax code is baffling complex - and that the legion of reliefs, breaks and 'incentives' within it make tax evasion easier. Read more...
Earlier this week, the TaxPayers’ Alliance toured North Wales as part of our campaign against extortionate rises in Council Tax. We travelled from Wrexham to Anglesey, stopping in nearly a dozen towns to let local people know quite how much their bills were being hiked by and what we were... Read more...
A Cabinet Office report, The State of the Estate, shows that £1.4 billion of savings have been made from a thorough rationalisation of the government property portfolio. Furthermore, £625 million was saved in 2013-14 by reducing the annual running costs of the estate. Read more...
Radio 4’s Inside Health this week covered the story of two drugs, Avastin and Lucentis. This may seem like an obscure medical point, but the impact on taxpayers is real, and switching between the two could save £84 million. Read more...
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s (ICAI) review of DfID’s security and justice (S&J) programmes is damning. Overall it grades the work undertaken as amber-red in a traffic light scale where red indicates poor effectiveness and value for money. Read more...
Several newspapers have reported that the ‘health tourism gap’ was almost £700 million in 2013-14. This is the difference between UK payments to EU governments for Brits who need health care abroad and payments which the UK receives for EU States’ citizens using the NHS (Daily Mail). Read more...
The Times carries an excellent leader column (£) today. The paper rightly says that we need an honest debate about new ways to pay for healthcare: Read more...
Most Welsh Taxpayers, I'm sorry to say, will have their already heavy tax burden increased again this year. Councils throughout the country have in the past few weeks been setting their budgets, seemingly with no thought for taxpayers. Across Wales - from Abergele to Aberdare, Bridgend to Bangor and Cardiff... Read more...
Students gathered at the Forum on the campus of the University of Exeter to hear TPA Chief Executive Jonathan Isaby talk about inter-generational debt. Read more...
Ahhhh, Friday. Read more...
Today’s newspapers do not make pleasant reading for anybody. Read more...
The Liberal Democrats have announced another tax increase with a predictable target – banks. Read more...
The Licence Fee “is becoming harder and harder to justify and sustain.” Read more...
Last night, Milton Keynes council voted to hike bills by 1.95 per cent, just under the 2 per cent limit at which they would have had to call a referendum to get the rate rise through. This is a heavy burden to add to already high costs for taxpayers, who... Read more...
An energy-generating tidal lagoon has been condemned as “appalling value for money” by Citizen’s Advice. The project is said to be aiming for a guaranteed price for the energy it generates of £168 per megawatt-hour (MGw) - far more than even the infamously expensive off-shore wind. Read more...
We need to talk about tax. Read more...
Our Chief Executive, Jonathan Isaby, wrote for Conservative Home today, explaining why all taxpayers should oppose plain packaging for cigarettes. Read more...