Thankfully there are fewer non-jobs these days than there were, although there are still some corkers around. Two weeks ago I highlighted Horsham District Council's search for a Healthy Weight Coordinator, a Physical Activity Coordinator, and a Workplace Health Coordinator. Applicants had until 10 April to submit their applications, with... Read more...
Writing for The Commentator, Dominique Lazanski argues that the government continues to suffer from poor research, ‘fag packet’ proposals and a general lack of understanding of the web issues that face the UK today.Today, a cross party group of MPs announced widespread filtering of the Internet in the UK. Under the proposals,... Read more...
Why is Bath & North East Somerset Council persisting with its plans to introduce 20mph speed limits across Bath? They waste taxpayers’ money, are environmentally unfriendly and are either legally unenforceable or ineffective. 20mph zones are only enforceable if they come with expensive (and unpopular) traffic calming measures, such as... Read more...
Writing for the New Statesman's Current Account blog, Matthew Sinclair argues that it is lack of take-up that makes the tax system look biased against the rich.I’m glad Alex likes the graph we made yesterday. Hopefully it makes it a little easier to understand how much everyone is paying. I don’t think he... Read more...
Some council taxpayers in the East Riding of Yorkshire are being forced to take part in a fortnightly rubbish collection trial. The council says this is to encourage recycling and it is what residents want, but when you delve deeper into the subject, all is not what the council wants us to... Read more...
There are some very misleading headlines around today in response to HMRC income tax receipts data which the Government has released to support its capping of unlimited reliefs. The Metro reports that it shows "multi-millionaires hand over less than cleaners" as 6 per cent of those earning more than £10... Read more...
Great success at our Yeovil Action Day. Local TPA supporters gathered in the heart of the South Somerset market town to urge local residents to sign a petition asking the council to stop the rise in council parking charges in Yeovil Town Centre, as it badly effects local shops and... Read more...
Unison make three points in response to our report this morning on the black hole in council pensions. They pretend that there is something wrong with us "comparing liabilities to assets"; try to play down the cost to taxpayers; and cite the same misleading 'average' public sector pensions figure they... Read more...
Writing for Public Service Europe, Emma Boon argues that the £54 billion deficit in local government pensions isn't going away without reform of council pension funds.If you have ever worried about not paying your credit card off at the end of the month or lost some sleep over an overdraft, then spare... Read more...
Includes breakdown of every council's pension deficit The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) today reveals that councils across the UK had a combined pension deficit of £54 billion in 2010-11. The assets of all 101 local authority pension funds in the UK are dwarfed by their liabilities, creating a deficit which taxpayers are ultimately liable for.CLICK... Read more...
Ronald Reagan once famously said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Perhaps George Osborne and Treasury civil servants thought adding 20 per cent VAT to hot pasties was going to help resolve an anomaly, but as Tim... Read more...
In the latest twist to protests over the government’s pasty tax, the Chairman of the Cornish Pasty Association has stepped into the fray, saying he fears for the viability of his regional industry following the proposed 20% hike in prices in October. ‘Collectively, the Cornish pasty industry accounts as one... Read more...
Writing for The Commentator, Emma Boon explains that as long as taxes on tobacco, fuel and alcohol are high, the Government will fail to tackle the serious and growing problem that is the illicit market.A few weeks ago nearly 50,000 illegal cigarettes and 50kg of hand rolling tobacco worth £19,000... Read more...
The Government’s consultation on its plans to establish a Statutory Register of Lobbyists closes on Friday 13th April and the TPA has now submitted its response, which you can read in full below. To summarise, we support the Government’s plans as outlined in the Consultation Paper for a register of... Read more...
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The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that £28.5 billion of tax revenue has been lost to the illicit market in spirits, beer, cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco and diesel between 2005-06 and 2009-10. The tax gap, detailed in an annual report from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), would have been more than enough to fund a 1p cut... Read more...
Last year we revealed how three MLAs and two members of staff took a trip to Washington DC to celebrate St Patrick's Day. The cost of this three day jolly was £10,739.45. Today we can exclusively reveal that this was not the only example of Northern Ireland's politicians living it... Read more...
Cornwall Council has been forced to employ additional staff at taxpayers’ expense simply to explain new recycling rules to their residents. The changes in recycling collections from the start of April have resulted in 35,000 confused locals phoning their council for help. ‘I don't think we underestimated,’ said a spokesperson... Read more...
Writing for Politics.co.uk, Robert Oxley explains how taxpayers got a terrible deal from bailing out the banks and would get another bad one for bailing out politicians.The allegation that Tory donors were able to effectively buy access to the Prime Minister have intensified the debate over how we fund politics... Read more...
Lambeth Borough Council is looking for a Customer Experience Improvement Officer in Parking Services. According to the job advert, the successful applicant"will maximise customer engagement; undertake all aspects of quality assurance to ensure our services meet the needs of our customers; proactively engage with all service users and stakeholders to... Read more...
Spring has sprung, and that means big bills for fresh flowers in Whitehall. The Times reported(£) Tuesday that in the past year, thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been spent by Government departments on plants and flowers. The Ministry of Justice topped the list of offenders, spending £14,000 on greenery in the... Read more...
News of more taxation through the back door from Sheffield City Council. In February I wrote about huge hikes in the cost of parking permits for residents and businesses. Now the council intends to introduce charges for garden waste collections. Residents who wish to keep their green wheelie bin will... Read more...
Over the weekend, Air Passenger Duty (APD) was hiked yet again. If you want to enjoy a well-earned break this year, you'll have to pay significantly more. The Telegraph reports that a family travelling to Sydney will pay £500 in APD, compared to just £80 in 2005, and a "family... Read more...
Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance announces March’s recipients of its monthly awards to celebrate those in power who have sought to do the right – and wrong – thing by the taxpayer. The man, woman or organisation to be congratulated for saving public money or acting in the interests of the... Read more...