TAXING TIMES 2014-2015 | taxpayersalliance.com Why the TPA is still TPA’s plan for tax reform winning after 10 years wins international award Matthew Elliott, Page 12 Page 10 2015 presents War on Waste goes nationwide our biggest challenges yet The TaxPayers’ Alliance needs to be heard loud and clear in this crucial election year

towards the right solutions: in Jonathan Isaby particular, we must stop any case Chief Executive for new or higher taxes from gaining @isaby traction. Times have changed since Matthew Elliott, Andrew Allum and a small coterie of volunteers The TaxPayers’ Alliance has established the TPA in 2004. Back achieved a great deal in the ten years then, our political leaders were since its founding. However, with a under the impression that they had critical General Election looming changed the laws of economics, in May 2015, we now face the most eradicating the notion of an crucial period in our short history. economic cycle and abolishing boom We have succeeded in shifting and bust forever. the terms of the political debates All the main political parties surrounding taxation, spending and were merrily wedded to plans which TPA supporters gathered in Westminster for the launch of the nationwide War on Waste Roadshow. Full report on Page 8. transparency in this country over the involved spending more and more last decade and notched up some taxpayers’ money, and increasing significant changes in public policy borrowing – meaning that even in their money was being spent, and so more disciplined about ensuring that that there’s no such thing as ‘public along the way. the good times, the debt was piling one of our earliest campaigns was the country lives within its means. money’, only taxpayers’ money – and But whoever forms the up. to demand far more transparency Despite a serious pledge to they have a responsibility to spend it government after the General At the time, I was a journalist across the public sector about where eradicate the deficit during the wisely and efficiently. Election is going to have to deal with working at the Daily Telegraph and the money was going. course of the 2010-15 Parliament, We have a big year ahead and a number of pressing issues, with the remember being hugely excited That campaigning was successful David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s I hope that we can rely on your burgeoning level of the national by the emergence of this new and councils and government Coalition Government will still have support. debt at the very top of their in-tray. organisation which promised to departments are now obliged to spent nearly £100 billion more than Then there’s the public finally give hard-pressed taxpayers a publish significant amounts of that it raised during its fifth and final year dissatisfaction with the maddeningly voice. Little did I know then that I spending data – which itself acts as in office. complex tax system, the affordability would be privileged to be at its helm a check on those tempted to fritter During that five-year term they of the current system of welfare a decade later! away our taxes on unnecessary or will have piled an additional £567 benefits and a tax burden which is What Matthew and Andrew did billion onto the national debt, which frivolous projects. hitting families in the pocket right from the start was to make the case will stand at an eye-watering £1.4 across the nation. for lower taxes and less borrowing trillion when voters go to the polls by showing how a great deal of the You can cut spending on 7th May 2015. money being spent by government This is why we must strain every We now face the most was in fact being wasted. And we are without impacting on sinew in the coming months to still doing that to this day, although crucial period in our make sure that our key message there is one significant difference in essential services if short history the way we go about it. gets through to politicians across the Ten years ago, if you wanted to you cut out the waste board: you can cut spending without know details about how any arm of impacting on essential services if It is absolutely vital that the next government was spending taxpayers’ you cut out the waste; and those government does not shirk away money, you always had to use But even in the post-crash spending cuts will create the room from dealing with these questions Freedom of Information requests to economic environment, that doesn’t for lower taxes and less borrowing. and it is equally vital that the seek it out. mean the waste has yet been What’s more, we will never tire “It makes War and Peace TaxPayers’ Alliance is well-placed to But the TPA always believed that eradicated. And neither does it of reminding all those politicians look like a short story.” play its part in guiding the politicians taxpayers had a right to know how mean that our leaders have become and bureaucrats spending our cash

ARTICLES INSIDE

Taxes: the real cost of living crisis The time has come for tax simplification Debt: the ticking timebomb The average family’s tax bill is higher than the amount they Barely a week goes by without more headlines about another So long as the Government continues spending more than spend on essentials including housing, fuel, power, food and public figure being involved in a tax avoidance scheme. It’s a it is raising, the national debt will continue to escalate. Fast clothing. But this burden could be reduced by the politicians symptom of a burdensome, broken tax system, with the public approaching an eye-watering £1.4 trillion, it will be our themselves who set the taxes – if only they would cut out the no longer confident that people are paying their fair share. children and grandchildren who have to pay it off. Public wasteful spending. See Page 3 Reform and simplification are long overdue. See Page 4 sector debt is little more than deferred taxation. See Page 5 2 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES Inside Meet the award-winning TPA team

1. Matthew Elliott, Founder 2. Jonathan Isaby, Chief How we took our message across Executive the nation 3. Emma Bennett, Operations Page 8 Director 4. Dia Chakravarty, Political Director 5. Andrew Allum, Chairman 6. Helen Chandler-Wilde, ‘Mansion Tax’ Intern Is this the most pernicious tax 7. Jennifer Salisbury Jones, Campaign Manager proposal out there? (Grassroots) Page 11 8. Alex Wild, Research Director 9. Sara Rainwater, Development Director 10. Chris Carter, Intern 11. Sara Fazal, Intern 12. Rory Meakin, Research Fellow 13. John O’Connell, Director 14. Andy Silvester, Campaign Manager (Communications) 15. Roecker Mellick, Intern Not pictured: Jordan Taylor, Policy Analyst Andrew Allum How we provide value for money Page 12

Support Make a donation or volunteer your time and help us to keep up the fight for taxpayers Visit our new online campaign hub Page 16

News 3 Parliament & Politics 6 Business 7 Features 8 World 10 Property & Leisure 11 Opinion 12 Announcements 14 Your problems www.taxpayersalliance.com answered 14 CONTACT US The TaxPayers’ Alliance, 55 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QL Launched in 2004 by Matthew Elliott and Quiz & Puzzles 15 Tel: 020 7998 1450 Email: [email protected] Andrew Allum, the TaxPayers’ Alliance is Britain’s Facebook: taxpayersalliance Twitter: @the_tpa independent grassroots campaign for reforming taxes, cutting spending and protecting taxpayers. www.taxpayersalliance.com ©2014 Published by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, all rights reserved. Information correct at time of print, E&Os accepted. The TaxPayers’ Alliance is a Company Limited by Guarantee in England No. 04873888 Designed by www.nichecreativeservices.com 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 3 News Taxes: the real cost of living crisis Town Hall

for themselves – didn’t fall in 2014 Tycoons £10,000 John O’Connell until 28th May. The latest edition of our Town Hall Director We have warned that any moves £9,000 @jjpoconnell to increase the tax burden will be Rich List – the definitive guide to the challenged by us every step of the £8,000 highest paid bureaucrats working way and are fighting for an overall for local authorities across the UK

reduction in that burden. £7,000 VAT – found 2,195 council employees still receiving total remuneration in The tax burden on families up and That means continuing our fight against Council Tax hikes when £6,000 excess of £100,000 in 2012-13. down the country has continued COUNCIL TAX services are cut. Local politicians This figure represents a reduction

to grow – whether through local £5,000 should instead strip out unnecessary POWER & of 5% on the previous year’s total of NATIONAL

Council Tax, Income Tax or spending and deliver tax cuts. It 2,308. However, we uncovered that HOUSING, FUEL HOUSING, INSURANCE National Insurance – and the also means calling for reductions to £4,000 at 94 councils, the number of people average household will now pay over taxes on flights, fuel, energy bills and CLOTHING on these huge pay deals had in fact £650,000 in tax in a lifetime. £3,000 more, so that families can cope with spend per household (2012) erage increased.

In a further blow to those their bills. av £2,000 Our research, published in struggling with the cost of living, Politicians lazily talk about the August 2014, identified 549 council

politicians have also increased VAT “cost of living crisis”, citing their £1,000 employees who enjoyed an annual concern about how much of the FOOD

and implemented the highest Fuel Annual TAX INCOME package worth £150,000 or more, Duty in Europe – not to mention the average wage is spent each month £0 while it emerged that there were on essentials like food, clothing, highest tax on air travel in the world. no fewer than 35 people whose accommodation, fuel and energy. remuneration exceeded £250,000. The Government is expected But what those very same to raise around £648 billion in We welcomed the fact that the politicians all too often fail to The real cost of living crisis: how the taxes mount up compared to the essentials number of senior council staff on the 2014-15 financial year. That acknowledge is that the biggest cost more than £100,000 a year is falling, is a huge amount of money, and of living for most families is in fact was set at 40% in the late 1980s, only session that many people are deeply although that may simply be because it means it takes a while until the the amount they have to pay in taxes, one in twenty was hit by it. frustrated with the way the Treasury many authorities have finished average worker begins to keep their a figure set by – guess who – the But today nearly one in six of us has stealthily pulled more people paying eye-watering redundancy own money. politicians. is paying the higher rate of tax, and into paying a punishingly high rate. They are the ones who directly bills. The TaxPayers’ Alliance projections released by the Office for He says he’d love to change things Executive pay in too many town calculated that once personal have the power to ease the burden Budget Responsibility suggest that and raise outdated thresholds, and on hard-pressed families by cutting halls continues to be insulated from and business taxes are taken into unless politicians bring themselves it’s our job to hold his feet to the fire some of those taxes. economic reality, despite the urgent account, on a working day you start It is politicians’ decisions which so to act, within two decades one third and ensure that he does it. need to find savings and the fact that to keep your own money only after often hurt us in the pocket. of the population will be dragged If politicians like him really want many councils claim that they have 1.31pm in the afternoon. For instance, their failure to into paying a rate of tax that was to ease the burden on the squeezed insufficient cash to fund frontline Or if you prefer to think of it increase Income Tax thresholds with designed only for the very rich. middle, they must announce a services. in terms of a calendar year, Tax inflation is dragging more and more David Cameron acknowledged package of tax cuts in the run-up to It is also galling for rank-and-file Freedom Day – the day on which of us into paying taxes at the higher the frustrations of hard-working the election to leave more money staff at those same authorities who taxpayers effectively stop working rate over time. people in July 2014, when he in the pockets of the people who have been subject to pay freezes for the government and start earning When the top rate of Income Tax accepted at a question-and-answer earned it. or below-inflation salary increases themselves. Real doctors, not Why we need to wage War on Waste spin doctors government departments, inside the That is why the TPA’s War on in the future and we need a proper Andy Silvester European Commission or at one of Waste campaign is so crucial in the discussion about how we finance The NHS wasted over £46 million

Campaign Manager the multitude of quangos doling out run-up to the General Election. them in the long term. last year on 1,129 unnecessary jobs (Communications) taxpayers’ money. Politicians and bureaucrats must At the moment, the state is in areas such as public relations, the @silvesterldn become more responsible guardians unsustainably large and most EU and ‘green’ staff. Exposed as part of taxpayers’ money – and we have politicians don’t have a solution. Our research found of our ongoing NHS every right to be angry when our That’s why the TaxPayers’ Alliance For all the talk of austerity, £120 billion of wasteful money is wasted. Waste Uncovered is putting together a comprehensive politicians will spend over £730 spending in just one year And for a long-term, sustainable campaign, the money billion this year. reduction in the size of the state, spending plan, in order to let any spent on these Public spending will still be 43% we also need to re-think what it future government know how best positions could have of GDP by 2015, according to the Our research found a whopping actually does. The size and scale of to find the savings. paid for 1,662 full-time nurses. Office for Budget Responsibility. £120 billion of wasteful spending in the quango state must be properly And if we get spending under The startling figures were exposed Yet, to implement the kind of tax just one year. addressed, for instance. control, it will be easier to make the by Freedom of Information requests reforms proposed by the 2020 Tax Clearly there are big savings to be Healthcare and pensions are reforms to the tax system that would to every NHS organisation in the UK Commission (see page 4), we need made. The National Audit Office only going to become more costly secure our future prosperity. and showed that the NHS employed to reduce spending to around 33% found that better use of public sector at least 826 public relations staff at of national income. an estimated cost of £34 million. office space could save £830 million. £ BILLION, 2013-14 The governments of Australia Civil servants are still entitled to Meanwhile, at least 165 equality and diversity staff cost us more than £6.8 and Switzerland spend roughly that ‘privilege days’ off, for the Queen’s share of their economies. There may million and a further 86 ‘green’ staff birthday and Maundy Thursday. be some differences between those were hired at a cost of around £3.5 This costs taxpayers around £180 countries and the UK, but it shows million. million a year. that public spending of around a This comes after TPA analysis third of your national income is of data from the Health and Social perfectly compatible with living in a % GDP, 2013-14 Care Information Centre – a civilised society. Department of Health agency – We welcome the fact that showed significant disparities in how many government departments much over 1,500 different NHS sites and councils have gone on major in England paid for their energy and efficiency drives, trimming the water bills. fat and improving processes. The Many trusts could save significant Cabinet Office is doing a lot of amounts of money by emulating work on improving procurement, those which secure the best value for for instance, and has already made money. some impressive savings worth tens Work could also be done on of billions of pounds to taxpayers. cutting NHS expenses bills – the super-quango, NHS England, blew But there is still far too much SOURCE: HM TREASURY SOURCE: HM TREASURY wasteful spending going on, whether £200,000 in just one year on travel, it be at the humble town hall, Public spending as a proportion of national income, 2013-14 Public spending breakdown, 2013-14 hotels and restaurants. 4 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES News The time has come for tax simplification

John O’Connell, Director are able to navigate it. Membership children’s and grandchildren’s of the Chartered Institute of futures is a monumental headache Nobody understands the UK’s tax Taxation has grown from 10,115 in as well. system any more. There are too many 1996 to around 17,000 today. That The Single Income Tax, the final The cost of collecting tax rules, rates and exemptions, which should set alarm bells ringing. report of the 2020 Tax Commission result in maddening complexity. Just look at the difference between which the TaxPayers’ Alliance 1958-2009 Take the headline rates of Income our tax system and Hong Kong’s – at established with the Institute of Directors, recommended sweeping In 1958, BT purchased Tax: they’re 20%, 40% and 45%. over 17,000 pages, a pile of Tolley’s reforms to the tax system. But once that other tax on income, Tax Handbooks tower over their their first ever The key proposal was a single National Insurance (both employer’s 267-page counterpart (see ‘Spot the proportionate tax of 30% above a computers. They cost and employee’s), is factored in, the Difference’, page 15). generous personal allowance (see £250,000, were the size rates leap to 40%, 49% and 53%. box below right for a summary). And if you earn between £100,000 Serious tax reform will This would cut tax for everyone, of a small room, and and £120,000, your real tax rate is lead to growth and because even if you ignore the 66%, due to the sneaky removal of could perform 6,000 prosperity employer’s National Insurance, your tax-free allowance. the current basic rate of tax is calculations per second And Child Benefit withdrawal actually 32% once the employee’s means some with four children pay It’s not just individual taxpayers contributions are factored in. 73%. Meanwhile, many people on who struggle with the system. The proposals also put in benefits, at the lower end of the Complicated taxes put significant safeguards for pensioners who income scale, find themselves losing burdens on businesses, too. have paid National Insurance for a over 90% of their additional and Small firms, in particular, are hit working lifetime. In 2009, the iPhone 3GS already low earnings when they take disproportionately hard, as they We built on the report by mapping was the world’s best- a job. have limited resources with which to out practical steps to implement George Osborne himself said try and navigate the labyrinth. the proposals of the 2020 Tax selling mobile phone. in 2010 that the tax system is a This breeds uncertainty too: Commission. “spaghetti bowl”. He’s absolutely it makes it incredibly hard to And we have been meeting with They cost £400, easily fit right – it’s a complete mess. make sensible long-term business politicians from all the parties to tell in a pocket, and could It means that only tax professionals decisions – and planning for your them they are standing in front of an open goal. perform 6.4 million But there are big challenges still ahead. People just don’t trust that calculations per second everyone else is paying their fair Celebrity tax avoidance share any more. Those on middle SOURCE: 2020 TAX COMMISSION incomes see benefit fraud at the bottom and elaborate tax avoidance – don’t blame them, at the top. A couple of years ago, serious questions were raised when it blame the politicians emerged that then London mayoral The Single Income Tax candidate, Ken Livingstone, was Six steps to lower, simpler and fairer taxes But even more important is the reducing his tax bill by channelling Dia Chakravarty, Political Director message that anyone using legal his earnings through a company. n Taxes should be cut to 33% of national income tax avoidance schemes is merely With voters struggling to make In recent months, an increasing taking advantage of some wheeze ends meet and pay their own tax n Marginal tax rates should not exceed 30%, number of celebrities have or other that has been dreamt up bills, they were particularly angry come under fire from the media by any of the Chancellors who has that a relatively well-off politician and the personal allowance should increase over their participation in tax delivered a Budget in the last fifty didn’t seem to be playing by the avoidance schemes. or so years. same rules. n Taxes on capital and labour income disguised There was one weekend not so Some of the schemes in Now that the complexity of the as business taxes should be abolished, and replaced long ago when the tax affairs of which celebrities have got tax system is even getting leading Take That’s Gary Barlow were themselves involved are subject to politicians in trouble themselves, with a tax on distributed income the subject of front page news and investigation by HMRC and the they are finally beginning to see the leading TV news bulletins. n Transaction, wealth and inheritance taxes courts will decide whether or not case for serious tax reform. Little did I think that we’d ever So the task ahead for us at the they should be closed. should be abolished be invited into a TV studio to TaxPayers’ Alliance is to finally But while there is understandable talk about some of our biggest drive home the message that serious public anger about this, the truth n Other consumption taxes need to stay for now, celebrities, but we spent much of tax reform will lead to growth and the following 48 hours doing just is that every loophole created prosperity. but transport taxes should be cut that. over the decades by politicians has Equally as important, we have It enabled us to remind viewers resulted in a more complicated to keep making the case that tax n Local authorities should raise half of their spending and listeners of several key facts. tax system – and anyone tempted simplification will restore trust in power from local taxes First of all, whilst tax evasion to attack those who are playing the tax system. 2020tax.org is illegal, tax avoidance is entirely by the system’s rules should What could be simpler and fairer within the bounds of the law. instead direct their anger at the than a system which dictates that Many people buy duty free politicians. (over and above a generous personal cigarettes and perfume when The onus should now be on allowance) if you earn twice as much returning from abroad, or have an them to simplify the system once as your neighbour then you should ISA. That is tax avoidance too. and for all. pay twice as much in tax? Or that if they earn ten times as much as you, then they should pay ten times as much in tax? Further spending restraint and a series of co-ordinated smaller reforms could take us towards such a system over the next Parliament. This is why there has never been a better time to argue for serious tax simplification – and that is exactly what we shall be demanding from whoever forms the government after the General Election.

Dia Chakravarty debates tax simplification with Owen Jones on Sky News n Further reports: Around the Houses, page 6 and Business, page 7 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 5 News Debt: the ticking timebomb

The reality is frightening. The children and grandchildren, through Alex Wild national debt is set to reach a higher tax bills. That’s all that public Research Director staggering £1.4 trillion by the time of sector debt is: deferred taxation. the General Election. Horrifyingly, that’s not even That would be enough to build the true extent to which taxpayers 1,750 Wembley Stadiums around are on the hook. TPA Research Fellow, Mike Denham, crunched the country. “We’re paying down the debt!” the numbers and found that the real Check out our online Debt Clock at www.debt-clock.org and follow it on Twitter via How often have you heard that national debt could be as high as £9 @ukdebtclock (figures correct as of 22nd August 2014) phrase shouted across the floor Just 14% of the public trillion. That’s because the official of the House of Commons by our realise that the national calculations do not include the speaking: at the moment interest is incredibly important to wipe that politicians? They might be playing liabilities for public sector pensions rates are low, but gilt yields are out and get the year-on-year public with words, but they hide a nasty debt is still increasing or the state pension, not to mention likely to rise – and if they rise, every finances back on track. truth – the national debt is actually deals done under PFI, nuclear pound of debt will become a lot But the debt is different to the spiralling ever upwards. decommissioning and Network Rail. more expensive. deficit, which is the amount of Recent polling has shown that If you piled it up in £20 notes, it The interest we have to pay on money the UK Government spends just 14% of the public realise that would be the equivalent of 1,052 that debt is enormous too. Soon, in excess of its income. Each year the debt is increasing. But can Mount Everests. more will be spent servicing our The national debt we run a deficit, the national debt you blame people for thinking it is We’re lucky, dear reader. You and debts than will be spent educating equates to a terrifying grows. coming down when politicians tell I won’t have to pay for this. the nation’s children. And we’re We have an ageing population us it’s coming down? No, that privilege will go to our actually in a good phase, relatively £97,000 for every and there are significant pressures British child on funding health and social care – taxpayers are facing a fiscal crunch. If a family ran up a big credit card The TPA’s famous Debt Clock bill and had to pay it off, they would made its way around the country a have to cut out spending on all but few years ago, to let people know the most essential things. Housing, just what a mess in which we would food, heating and clothing would find ourselves if politicians didn’t be top priorities, while trips away, act. The problem with such vast fancy restaurants and that new car numbers is that they are so difficult would all be put on hold until they to comprehend – even for our were back in the black. politicians, it seems. So we wanted That’s exactly what the to explain what the debt meant to Government must do: spend our each family, each individual, each money on the services we need, child. and cut back on the spending that Right now, the national debt satisfies no one but a small number equates to more than £20,000 of vested interests. Then we can per person, nearly £50,000 per finally start paying down our debts, household and an absolutely and the words shouted in the House terrifying £97,000 per child in the of Commons would not ring so UK. hollow. All of this information is It’s one of the most important The national debt has soared since our Debt Clock toured the country in 2010 now online on our revamped challenges the TPA faces – to debt-clock.org website. It is ticking convince all politicians to take over as you read this, with the debt action on cutting the debt. The run- climbing every second. up to the 2015 General Election is Yes, the Government has taken a crucial time to make that message Council debts uncovered some action to cut the deficit and it clear. used to service debt interest. cash. It’s the right thing to do. Jordan Taylor The research did uncover some But too many councils are not Policy Analyst examples of prudent financial being honest about what they can @jordan_devi management. Some 214 councils afford. Debt interest vs departmental reduced their long-term borrowing There is also a desperate need to between 2012 and 2013. cut spending so that we aren’t asked spending But we have big worries in to plug the gaps with higher taxes. 2015-16 Shocking research conducted by our particular about 62 local authorities, With these huge liabilities to pay, 2015-16 team has found that – as of 2013 – which have liabilities greater than councils can’t continue to fritter the long-term liabilities of Britain’s their assets. It’s hard to see how DEBT INTEREST away taxpayers’ money. local authorities amounted to more those liabilities, often in the form We need to keep up the pressure By 2015-16, the than £180 billion. This represents of pensions, are going to be paid debts that we are racking up for without increasing the amount that on local politicians – they have to interest we will future generations. local authorities borrow. start living within their means. have to pay on the Alarmingly, it was an increase That means even more of your That means highlighting the good, £60bn of 8% on the previous year and Council Tax being spent on servicing as well as the bad. Hammersmith national debt will is almost seven times the amount debt interest rather than crucial and Fulham Council, for instance, rise to £60 billion raised annually in Council Tax. So frontline services. cut its debt by £76 million between when your local authority tells you Families all across the country sit 2004 and 2013 – a 43% reduction. they want to increase Council Tax, down and work out what they can This shows that it can be done. don’t forget that your cash is being afford before they start splashing the Other councils should take note.

DEFENCE SPENDING n Long-term council liabilities add up to £2,828 per person in the UK We will spend almost half as much again on n 38 councils had long-term liabilities of more than £4,000 per person, 11 more £42.8bn than £5,000 and 4 had over £6,000 of liabilities per person debt interest payments as we will on defence n Scottish councils have by far the biggest liabilities relative to their size, with average long-term liabilities of almost £4,200 per person SOURCES: ONSONS AND AND HM HM TREASURY TREASURY 6 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES Parliament & Politics Taking our message to the corridors of power

But one crucial audience which landing on the right desks and then Dia Chakravarty can no longer ignore us is the take members of the research team

Political Director politicians in Westminster – the very into Parliament to brief MPs and @diachakravarty people who decide how much of our peers in more detail in person. cash they want to take in tax each For some of our more significant year and how then to spend it. reports, we also hold a specific Jonathan Isaby’s arrival as Political round table parliamentary briefing One of the founding aims of the Director in 2011 marked a significant to reach a larger cross-party group TaxPayers’ Alliance was to ensure ramping up of our engagement with of politicians at one time. Jonathan Isaby gives evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee that taxpayers finally had a voice ministers and parliamentarians; and And while we regularly make – and ten years later, there’s little I have ensured that our message written submissions to government and Communities and Local election manifestos over the coming doubt that we have achieved that. is still heard loud and clear in consultations and select committee Government Select Committee months, we will continue to engage But who is listening to that voice? Whitehall and Westminster since enquiries, it is noteworthy that (on quangos and Town Hall pay with all of them, putting the case The answer is: lots of audiences. stepping into Jonathan’s shoes on those committees are increasingly respectively), as well as making for tax reform, lower spending, less There are the millions we reach his appointment as Chief Executive. approaching us to help them with our debut appearance before the borrowing and better value in the through our regular appearances in Barely a week goes by when their inquiries. Public Accounts Committee of the delivery of public services. Rest the media and the fellow taxpayers our work is not cited in the House We have recently given oral National Assembly for Wales in assured, the voice of the taxpayer with whom we engage every week at of Commons or House of Lords, evidence to both the Public Cardiff. will continue to echo around the events around the country. because I ensure that our research is Administration Select Committee As the parties put together their corridors of power.

Baroness Noakes (Con): It is also worth noting that the one purchase The 2020 Tax Commission Viscount Ridley (Con): estimates that its proposals that we all make that has not become smaller in the time it takes to would add over 9% to GDP earn is government. Government costs the average person more over 15 years. Importantly, than food, fuel, clothing and housing put together, according to the annual growth rate the Taxpayers’ Alliance. would permanently be increased by around 0.4%. Lords debate on the Queen’s Speech, 10th June 2014 These potential prizes are too great to ignore. The Tax Commission’s analysis included dynamic modelling William McCrea (DUP, South Antrim): In March 2013, The Chancellor the UK was ranked by the World Economic Forum as the carried out for it by the world’s least-competitive country in terms of taxes and Ian Mearns (Lab, Gateshead): Centre for Economics and charges levied on air passengers. The TaxPayers Alliance has made much of his personal allowance Business Research. This is has described APD as “an unwelcome burden on family increase, but the Government continue to ignore the key. Many of us were delighted that the Chancellor used dynamic holidays, a cost to business and redundant with the EU the negative impact of their 24 tax rises between modelling to underpin the reductions in corporation tax last year and Emissions Trading System now being applied to aviation”, 2010 and 2015. I am not a natural bedfellow of the recent cut in fuel duty – so far, so good. What we really need the and has called for APD to be phased out entirely. the TaxPayers Alliance, but it believes that there Treasury to do is move towards using dynamic modelling as a way of have been 254 tax rises, particularly the hike in life. Commons debate on Air Passenger Duty, VAT in January 2011 from 17.5% to 20%. 23rd October 2013 Lords debate on the Queen’s Speech, 5th June 2014 Commons debate on the Finance Bill, 1st April 2014 Working for the Dole Local government policy wins

Andy Silvester, Campaign Manager at a job search centre; work for Alex Wild, Research Director We campaigned and lobbied was then slipped out: a proposal to (Communications) a registered charity; recognised on the issue and as a result, the make local councillors eligible to training; or work experience (with Government included a section join the Local Government Pension Over the last 12 months our exceptions for pensioners, or those in the 2014 Local Audit and Scheme – the scheme designed for We achieved a significant victory campaigning has notched up two with young children or a severe Accountability Act enshrining in law employees of local councils. in September 2013 when the disability). significant amendments to the law the right of citizens to blog, tweet Councillors already get a monthly Government moved to adopt our We proposed that non-compliance in the sphere of local government. Work for the Dole welfare reform with the activity requirements would and make recordings at local council allowance (not a pay packet) to First, there was an important meetings. support them in their important proposal within a month of us having automatically result in temporary victory for residents in areas where suspension of benefit payments, role and we always felt that it was published it. their local council seemed intent on Despite employment being at based on evidence from overseas wrong to be treating them in the that shows this to be necessary if making its proceedings as secretive The Government same way as council staff: it will only record levels, the number of people and inaccessible as possible. out of work in the UK has remained such a scheme is to be fully effective. changed the law after have served to skew their priorities, stubbornly high; and most people Our calculations showed that In the autumn of 2013, we exposed our campaigns aligning them with council staff believe that a welfare system which hundreds of thousands of people a number of local authorities which instead of the residents they are effectively discourages those on out- would come off benefits over time, were banning members of the there to represent. saving billions of pounds every year. of-work benefits from seeking work public from blogging, tweeting or From now on, all citizen By 2012, we established that more On publication, former Labour otherwise recording from their is in serious need of reform. welfare reform minister, Frank journalists and bloggers faced with than 4,500 councillors had joined A huge majority think that after Field, urged his party to “seriously place in the public gallery at council civic leaders afraid of public scrutiny the LGPS. So we campaigned a certain period, anyone capable look again” at the idea. Then at meetings. have the law on their side. for this anomalous perk to be of doing so should be expected to the 2013 Conservative Conference, These are meetings where The other change relates to the rescinded and were delighted by do some form of work helping the the Chancellor, George Osborne, councillors are making important Local Government Pension Scheme the announcement in March 2014 community in return for continued announced a new scheme, ‘Help to decisions relating to their residents’ (LGPS). that the Government is ending receipt of benefits. Work’, through which he said “all lives and which are fully open to The infamous email written by councillors’ entitlement to a local As such, our Work for the Dole long-term unemployed people who the public – although in many cases a government adviser in the wake report, written by Chris Philp, government pension. are capable of work will be required not streamed on the internet or of the attacks on the World Trade proposed that those on out-of- to do something in return for their This will not only save taxpayers’ work benefits would be required benefits.” recorded in a way that would allow Centre on 11th September 2011 money, but also remind councillors to undertake 30 hours per week of It came into effect in April 2014, those unable to attend to follow suggested that it was “a very good that they are there to represent either mandatory community work; and is a major step forward in proceedings and hold their elected day” to “bury” some bad news. the views of their residents to the physical and meaningful attendance welfare reform. representatives to account. What few recall is the news which council, not the other way round. 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 7 Business Tax reform essential if Britain means business an end to the complexity of profit, National Insurance are almost but it would restore legitimacy to an Rory Meakin depreciation and allowances; and indistinguishable from Income Tax increasingly discredited system. We Research Fellow an end to the corporate tax bias in in their impact on the labour market need fundamental reform designed @rorymeakin favour of debt. and their function: to raise revenue. to last, not tinkering at the edges. And this isn’t just about the The ‘insurance’ function implied And that’s the challenge ahead for big corporations. Reforming this in the name has steadily been eroded the TPA. We have to keep making element of the tax system will away to become meaninglessness the case to politicians that their One of the biggest stories of the invigorate entrepreneurs and small under successive reforms. businesses too. Meanwhile, Capital Gains Tax grandstanding is achieving nothing. last few years has been the tax We want to convince them to put arrangements of big companies like is little more than an additional Google, Amazon and Starbucks. We need fundamental income tax on dividends. radical tax reform at the heart of Some of their executives have That’s why they should all be their manifestos, to stop the stories been hauled before the Public reform designed to replaced with a single income tax. Not about corporate tax dodging and to Accounts Committee in Parliament, last, not tinkering at only would it make economic sense, secure our future prosperity. and the equivalent groups of politicians in the US and elsewhere. the edges However, many of those sessions have been more of a hindrance than Smaller firms, in particular, are a help, with some of them amounting Annual cost of EU labour far more sensitive to complicated to nothing more than an attempt to taxes as they have to negotiate that embarrass the companies. Instead, labyrinthine system with limited the time should have been used to regulations resources. get to the bottom of the problem. Their incentives would improve After all, there is genuine and do with lower wages, companies justified anger about the tax system. themselves are just legal entities substantially without Corporation Working Time Directive Few politicians understand the through which money is passed to Tax, Capital Gains Tax and system, even though they are the and from real people. Inheritance Tax. If they were ones who created it. replaced with a single tax on capital Taxpayers instinctively know that There is genuine and income, the top marginal rate on our system is not fit for a modern income earned, saved, invested in a £2.6 billion world where companies can move justified anger about company and passed on to children their profits around, and where the tax system would be significantly cut. many purchases are made online. Some of the Coalition’s measures Temporary Agency Workers Face-to-face transactions, with the have been steps in the right direction. point of sale obvious, are not as The 2020 Tax Commission The steady cuts in Corporation Tax Directive common any more. proposed a comprehensive overhaul and the plan to reduce the main rate But a crucial thing to remember of the system, with Corporation Tax to match the small companies rate is that a company has never paid a and Capital Gains Tax replaced by a have been welcome. penny in tax. new single income tax on distributed Economic evidence shows that £2 billion Companies can no more pay tax income. corporate taxes end up being paid than your television can pay the TV In other words, cash leaving mainly by workers in the form of licence. You pay the bill from your companies in the form of dividends, lower wages, so the cuts, together own pocket. The same is true with interest and share buybacks would with falling real wages, go some Halving the cost of regulations like these corporate taxes. be taxed at the same rate as cash way to explaining the comparatively Only people can pay taxes. leaving in the form of salaries. benign levels of unemployment could boost UK GDP by £4.3 billion and create Whether it’s shareholders receiving The improvement would be since 2007. The jobs market could less in dividends, customers paying dramatic: equal treatment of 60,000 new jobs have been much worse. SOURCE: OPEN EUROPE higher prices or workers making interest, dividends and salaries; Both employer’s and employee’s

Treasury model The burden of Business Rates Jennifer Salisbury Jones, Campaign working hard to find new tenants. in Westminster who gets what. We’ve also held a number of action But more has to be done. We Manager (Grassroots) must be dynamic days in local communities on the need to see this tax reformed and issue. cut, both to support local businesses What makes the TaxPayers’ Alliance to assess the impact of fiscal The Government has done good and to make sure that entrepreneurs John O’Connell, Director unique is that we operate in towns policy on the wider economy. work to ensure that local authorities are encouraged to start up new There was good news in the and cities across the country, talking It is easy to think that when keep more of the rates they raise, so businesses and expand when things 2013 Autumn Statement – the to real people about local issues. politicians talk about tax hikes, that it’s not decided by bureaucrats are going well. Treasury had finally trialled a One of the things we hear most they’re thinking about the extra model to look at the impact of about is Business Rates. These cash they will supposedly raise Corporation Tax cuts. And this punitive bills pose an increasingly rather than considering the has also been applied to Fuel serious threat to more and more knock-on effects. local shops and businesses. They are That’s because it’s largely true. Duty changes too. This is really important a massive burden and quite often However, they’re not helped the biggest bill facing a business, by Treasury officials: when work as official analysis has not previously accounted for changes outstripping rental costs. is done to analyse tax changes, It also means that independent it is largely based on how much in behaviour. Many people take on more work – or work harder shops struggle to keep up and lose revenue the Chancellor will out to chains with more capacity to directly gain or lose. – when tax rates are cut, for foot the bill. But the truth is very different. instance. So when politicians talk about If taxes are cut, then businesses So it is essential that the a private sector-led recovery, might, for example, hire new Treasury rolls out dynamic exorbitant Business Rates don’t employees, who then have modelling for every area of exactly help those who want to income to spend and tax taxation. expand and take on more staff. revenues of their own. Such a move would We launched a campaign to That’s why the TPA has long revolutionise the way decisions Freeze Business Rates and have called for so-called ‘dynamic are made at Budgets and make also highlighted the burden of modelling’ of tax changes. That the case for tax cuts impossible imposing Business Rates on empty would mean proper work is done to ignore. commercial properties, at a time when the owner has no income but is Small business owners raise Business Rates with us more than any other issue 8 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES Feature: Grassroots Waging War on Waste across the nation

Jennifer Salisbury Jones We stopped off at places like The Public Campaign Manager (Grassroots) in West Bromwich, an unwanted arts centre @jsalisburyjones which cost taxpayers £72 million and was closed a mere five years after it opened. We also visited the constituencies of all three main party leaders to pile the pressure on them to In July 2014, the TaxPayers’ Alliance went on explain what they are going to do to cut out the tour with our War on Waste Roadshow. Our waste and ensure that the country once again dedicated staff were joined by volunteers and lives within its means. hit the streets, leafleting and talking to local The War on Waste continues. Last year the residents about how much of our money Government spent £718 billion of our money politicians and bureaucrats are wasting. – but far too much of that delivered little or The tour took in every region of England and Wales, covering over 1,300 miles in nine no value for money. If politicians would cut days, stopping in 29 towns and cities. We met out the waste, they could reduce our tax bills some keen new activists and heard tales of without impacting on the essential frontline wasteful spending wherever we went. services we do expect in return.

Over 9 days, we... n Travelled over 1,300 miles n Hit 29 towns and cities n Were joined by 90 volunteers and activists n Distributed nearly 15,000 leaflets n Were covered by 40+ newspapers, radio & TV stations n Paid nearly £200 in Fuel Duty n Encountered one council jobsworth who tried to infringe our right to freedom of assembly

JOIN The TaxPayers’ Alliance

We’re seeking to recruit a pool of keen and enthusiastic volunteers who can spare a little time to get involved at the cutting edge of our exciting campaigns.

As a member of the TPA Action Team, you will: n be willing to occasionally give a few hours, to promote TPA campaigns in your local high street or market square n be keen to come into our Westminster Office to assist with campaign launches and research tasks n have opportunities to come and join us as a TPA volunteer n expand your independent campaigning experience – great for the CV n receive occasional invitations to special, exclusive events

To get involved in the TPA Action Team, please contact our Campaign Manager via jennifer.salisbury-jones@ taxpayersalliance.com or 020 7998 1450. We look forward to hearing from you!

Outside the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff Discussing council waste in Bristol 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 9 Feature: Grassroots Local activism is key to success

amounts we fork out in Council Tax on a whole range of issues across Emma Bennett and the quality of services provided Merseyside and Cheshire. Operations Director in return. At the end of the day, the campaign So when a council seeks to for better value from every level of raise taxes or downgrade essential government continues come rain or services while money is being wasted shine throughout the year – and we elsewhere, our supporters are first to need even more activists all over the The last 12 months have seen more raise their hackles in opposition. country to help us. grassroots TPA events and activity Our grassroots activists also Whether you’d like to volunteer than any other year in the decade take our national campaigns out since our founding. across the nation: Tom Morris has for the TPA in your local area, or led opposition to energy tax hikes are interested in joining our roving Dropping by Nick Clegg’s office in Sheffield For many of us, our most in Yorkshire; Eddie Curtis has frustrating encounters with Action Team, please get in touch. rallied supporters in Essex against unnecessary bureaucracy, wasteful Campaigning with the TPA is a great punitive Business Rates; Joe Green way of making a difference! spending and poor public sector has led campaigners in Oxfordshire delivery come through interactions seeking cuts to Stamp Duty; Ian If you want to get involved, call with our local council. As the level of Taylor has taken the War on Waste us on 020 7998 1450 or email government closest to us, it is easy to to Kent; and David Hartley has been jennifer.salisbury-jones@ make a direct link between the huge indefatigable in his campaigning taxpayersalliance.com Focus on: Wales engaged with local supporters Lee Canning from Ceredigion across to Wales Coordinator Monmouthshire and spoken to Taking the message to Ed Miliband in Doncaster @Lee_Canning residents and business owners from Cardiff to Wrexham. Reliance on the public sector in Wales is much greater than in other Taxpayers in Wales have for another parts of the UK, and our approach year been blighted by inflation- here is to ensure that taxpayers busting Council Tax increases, and are getting the best value from the I have staged a number of action Government’s annual budget. days in towns and cities including Council Tax is marginally less Swansea, Bridgend and Torfaen. than that of most English councils, Our supporters in Wales have also but that’s no justification for any campaigned against threatened cuts increases. We’ll continue to ensure to essential frontline services such that the message is heard loud and as regular bin collections – a move clear across Wales that taxpayers which has not been implemented by expect councils to deliver essential any of the councils where we have frontline services, cut out wasteful campaigned. spending and keep Council Tax As regional coordinator, I have down. Collecting petition signatures in Cardiff Visiting David Cameron’s office in Chipping Norton Focus on: The South West over 1,400 signatures and presented Tim Newark our petition in July 2014 to Bath & South West Coordinator North East Somerset councillors, who passed by a clear majority a motion in support of our petition. It called on the Council cabinet to “take into serious consideration the proposals of the petitioners, Two major grassroots campaigns and in particular seek to reduce or have come to a victorious conclusion remove the new ‘ultra-premium’ in the South West over the last year, on-street parking zone rates.” against a backdrop of numerous They also want to cut or remove The media catching up with the tour in Leicester other action days across the region. evening parking charges – a victory Our ‘Cut Cider Tax’ campaign for common sense and the concerns culminated with action days in of local businesses and residents. Frome, Bristol, Exeter, Bath and Meanwhile, in Bristol, TPA Oxford, with student support being supporter Roy Tallis got a lot of local particularly enthusiastic. With a coverage with his War on Waste campaign to cut the number of grand total of 2,000 signatures, councillors in the city council from Handing in the Cider Tax petition to the I handed in the petition to the 70 to just 12. Bristol’s Mayor, George Treasury Treasury in March 2014 and at the Ferguson, was forced Budget we were rewarded with to respond to our a freeze on duty on cider and an campaign with his end to the alcohol duty escalator – own proposal to cut excellent news for the region’s cider producers and drinkers alike. the number to 50. We also linked up with the Working with local Independent Shops of Bath to raise people and helping a petition protesting against a rise in them campaign for a parking charges in the city, which are cut in taxes and local badly affecting traders. By securing government costs is over 1,000 signatures, we were what we do best – able to trigger a full council debate and will continue to Campaigning on the streets of Harlow on the subject. In fact, we got well do so. Winning on parking charges in Bath 10 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES World International recognition for the TPA’s work Brad Lips, Atlas Chief Executive. Sara Rainwater, Development “From impeccable research to clear Director messaging, they’ve really raised the bar for think tanks.” The TaxPayers’ Alliance received Commemorating the late international recognition in investor and philanthropist, Sir November 2013 by winning the John Templeton, the Templeton prestigious Templeton Freedom Award. The final report of the TPA’s Freedom Award honours his legacy 2020 Tax Commission – The Single by identifying the most innovative Income Tax – was heralded by the and valuable contributions to the Atlas Network as an “ambitious and cause of freedom each year among comprehensive reform plan” at the think tanks. Liberty Forum in New York. The award is given by the Atlas Our seminal report came top of Network, a non-profit organisation the group of six finalists from around connecting a global network of the globe judged to be “the best more than 400 free-market groups examples of free-market think tank in over 80 countries to the ideas and excellence throughout the world.” resources needed to advance the After high-profile and influential cause of liberty. Dr Alex Chafuen, President of the Atlas members of the Tax Commission This is not the first time the TPA Network, visited the TPA offices in spent 18 months developing the has been recognised by the Atlas Westminster in May 2014 to meet the Network. We previously won the team. He is pictured here to the right of economic, moral and practical case 2007 Sir Antony Fisher Memorial our Founder, Matthew Elliott, and to the for lower and simpler taxes, our The Bumper Book of left of Jonathan Isaby, who is proudly rigorous 417-page report has helped Award for holding the Templeton Freedom Award. reframe the debate over Britain’s Government Waste and in 2012 won economic growth strategy. a Templeton Award for Initiative in “The TaxPayers’ Alliance has Public Relations for our campaign become such a force of nature in a to stop the taxpayer funding of trade relatively short amount of time,” said unions. International Making waves tax threats around the world John O’Connell, Director Sometimes, those who want to from their peers. punish us with higher taxes look Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive The most recent World Taxpayers abroad for inspiration. Conference took place in May 2014 Those who don’t trust us to look If imitation is the sincerest form of in Vancouver, Canada, where I was after our own health, or think we flattery, then we have reason to feel honoured to be able to fly the TPA need the Government to tell us quite chuffed. flag. what to do, will be looking to San Despite our relative youth as an Over three days, more than Francisco in November 2014. A organisation, taxpayer groups have 200 delegates from all corners referendum is being held there on sprung up in Australia and New of the world gathered for the whether to introduce a tax on fizzy Zealand in the last couple of years event, expertly hosted by the drinks. Similar measures have also citing the TaxPayers’ Alliance as Canadian Taxpayers Federation, been proposed in New York. their inspiration. with sessions covering the themes But it’s not as distant as you may We also regularly get asked to of lower, simpler, flatter taxes; think – Welsh politicians have also advise activists from nascent groups balanced budgets; tax competition; proposed it and TPA supporters in a whole host of other countries, government transparency; and took to the streets of Cardiff to kill seeking our input about how to run taxpayer rights. it at its source. effective campaigns. I was delighted to be asked to give It’s not just new taxes from When the TPA was founded in a presentation to the conference 2004, Matthew Elliott himself took abroad that we should worry about; about our successful campaign it’s fully loaded taxes imposed soundings from around the world, for the abolition of the Beer internationally, out of our own looking at existing organisations in Duty Escalator, which involved Activists in Iceland and New Zealand have replicated our campaigns on beer and Government’s control. the US, Canada and elsewhere for the distribution of hundreds of fuel taxes There are serious proposals inspiration. thousands of campaign beermats to on the table for an international So it is truly exciting that we pubs and bars around the country former Canadian Prime Minister, Also on the international scene, now find ourselves in a position to (see ‘Calling time on duty hikes’ on Paul Martin. He spoke about how he the TPA was represented by Matthew Financial Transactions Tax in help allies abroad both with the page 11 for more detail). successfully cut Canada’s national Elliott and Dia Chakravarty at the Europe, for instance – a barmy idea establishment of new groups and Punitive taxes on beer are debt and rebalanced the country’s 2014 European Resource Bank. It that would hurt Britain’s economy. We shouldn’t stand for it – just as the execution of specific campaigns. evidently common around the world economy by making significant is the largest annual gathering of the French would have no truck with We are members of an umbrella as many delegates registered their budget cuts when he was Finance free market think-tanks, campaign Minister in Jean Chrétien’s Liberal a Europe-wide tax on red wine. body, the World Taxpayers interest to me in replicating the groups, academics and policy Associations, which brings together campaign in their home countries. Government in the 1990s. There are so many groups out experts in Europe. the dozens of like-minded groups In fact, our counterparts in Iceland He erased what had been the there – usually funded by taxpayers’ which exist across the globe. Every have already done so, reporting highest budget deficit of any G7 Again, it is pleasing to report money – coming up with new ways two years a conference takes place to us that “no other campaign has nation and recorded five consecutive that during the discussions there, to hit people in the pocket. at which member organisations gathered as much positive interest”. budget surpluses. Wouldn’t today’s the TPA was repeatedly held up by The threats of international taxes come together to meet in person, The highlight of the programme British politicians do well to learn others as an example of a world- are real, and we have to make sure share ideas and take inspiration in Vancouver was an address by some lessons from him? class campaigning organisation. we are prepared to fight them off. 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 11 Property & Leisure So-called ‘Mansion Tax’ Stamp it out

Dia Chakravarty, Political Director would be a catastrophe In an article for City A.M., TPA Research Fellow, Rory Meakin, Duty on the original purchase of the in London and the South East of once called Stamp Duty “a good Rory Meakin, Research Fellow property. England, making it a very targeted candidate for the most stupid, But then, having bought your hit at a particular region. destructive and illogical of the UK’s While much of our time is spent home, you may now have retired and In those areas with homes that many taxes”. He had a point. The to buy their first home, or those seeking cuts to existing taxes, we no longer be working. Many people would be covered by the tax, the reason it’s such an ugly tax is because looking to downsize when the kids are very aware of the need to be find themselves in retirement to be property market would be skewed at of its slab structure. That means it’s have moved out. on our guard against those seeking asset rich but cash poor: how could the margin and further weakened, not gradual – pay £250,000 for a Our activists are keen to hold to introduce new and ever more it be right to turf a pensioner out thereby reducing other tax receipts. house and you pay 1%, or £2,500. more action days on this issue, so pernicious taxes. of the home which they have spent And the value of many properties Buy a new home for £250,001 and we expect to be talking to more And they don’t get much more a working lifetime buying, simply would in any case immediately fall you pay 3%, or a whopping £7,500. people across the country about this pernicious than the so-called because they are not in a position to below the threshold for paying the Our Stamp Out Stamp Duty increasingly burdensome tax in the ‘Mansion Tax’ which is currently pay an annual levy on its value? campaign has really moved the issue tax, which also begs the question: coming months. being proposed in various quarters. up the political agenda. We showed how could you justify someone with The Chancellor will be thinking It would be a dramatic and that four in every five homes bought dangerous development in the It would be a 10 houses worth £1.9 million paying now about what he could do to help nothing and someone with one £2 in 2013 will be subject to Stamp British tax system to bring in an dangerous development Duty by 2018 – not bad for a tax that out struggling families in his final annual levy on the value of one million property paying £20,000 a Budget before the General Election. year? was introduced just to capture the particular asset and we will be doing in our tax system We need to keep reminding him What’s more, history has taught most expensive property sales. all we can to persuade its advocates With houses currently so that there’s certainly something he of the folly of their ways. us that taxes aimed at a very small And what is defined as a mansion, unaffordable for so many, it’s only could do to make housing more For a start, there is the injustice number of people – like Income Tax anyway? It completely depends on right to highlight the extra burden affordable for families up and down in punitively going after people and Stamp Duty – end up clobbering where you live. There are opulent politicians place on families looking the country. who have already paid significant homes in parts of the country that the majority in the end as politicians amounts in tax. If you own a home are worth nowhere near £2 million, fail to raise thresholds with inflation worth more than £2 million, the whereas in certain areas of London and create new or higher rates as chances are that you have handed there are terraced houses with time goes on. over pretty hefty chunks of your that kind of price-tag. The fact is We say best to kill off this earnings in Income Tax over the that more than 85% of those who ludicrous idea before anyone even Fight Flight Tax years – and of course paid Stamp would be clobbered by the tax live tries to enact it.

Jennifer Salisbury Jones, Campaign This holiday tax doesn’t just force Manager (grassroots) up the price of your holiday. Airlines have been cutting routes made uneconomical by Air Passenger In Britain, flights are subject to the Calling time on duty hikes Duty, with British Airways blaming highest Air Passenger Duty (APD) it for the axing of its Aberdeen to rates in the world – even budget Andy Silvester, Campaign Manager London City route, for example. (Communications) flights to destinations just across the Channel. The TaxPayers’ Alliance Countries across Europe has long been calling for a rethink including Holland, Denmark, Mash Beer Tax was a classic TPA of this unfair tax on holiday-makers and Belgium have scrapped their campaign. We identified a problem and businesses alike. versions of the tax due to its negative that was hitting ordinary people in impact. The disproportionately high the pocket: politicians had put an Air Passenger Duty is so high that a family of four travelling to Florida rate in the UK means that more escalator on Beer Duty, meaning and more people flying long-haul it went up in price above inflation will now pay £276, or £388 if they fly to Australia. Indeed, for some cheap choose to land at a European hub every year, regardless of the wider like Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport economic context. flights, Air Passenger Duty can be to save hundreds of pounds. We then identified the best way to nearly a third of the overall cost of After sustained pressure, the get something done about it: launch travel. Treasury finally made modest cuts a single-issue campaign in the High taxes on flights discourage run-up to the 2013 Budget and let tourists and business travellers to APD at the 2014 Budget. But the the Chancellor know we wouldn’t from coming to Britain in the first Government needs to do more to stand for it. place and they make it much more alleviate the burden on families and After working with media partners expensive for people to enjoy a well- businesses, which will in turn help and other allies both in Parliament earned break. boost the wider economy. in the hospitality industry, our campaign succeeded and the Beer Duty Escalator was abolished – Our campaign against tax hikes on beer won the support of The Sun’s page 3 girls saving taxpayers over £200 million a year. again easing the burden on those the message outside Westminster However, wine and spirits drinkers who have the temerity to want wine and to ordinary people up and down were being left out. So we worked on with dinner or unwind with a drink the country, to make our case even a similarly professional and dynamic at the end of a hard day. more powerfully. plan to campaign against the tax And we achieved recognition, as hikes on these products that hit the Abolition of the Beer well as results. Our Mash Beer Tax cost of living. campaign was awarded ‘Best In- We enjoyed similar results at the Duty Escalator House Campaign’ at the 2013 Public 2014 Budget, with the Chancellor saves taxpayers Affairs News Awards – a testament to our skilled team and well-honed £200 million a year methods of achieving results. But we’re not complacent. We Over both campaigns, we know that there’s so much more to distributed over a million drinks do to ensure that we highlight how coasters, showing as clear as day just politicians themselves are hiking how much the Treasury takes when the cost of living, of which taxes on you buy a beer or a bottle of wine for drinks are clearly a very small part. you and your friends to enjoy. However, victories like these Our local activists were again embolden us as we fight for far crucial in these campaigns: we took greater prizes. Campaigning against punitive flight taxes at Bristol Airport 12 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES Opinion Still making a difference after a decade

organisation with a dedicated staff But the TPA has always been so our spokesmen in studios from before into their own, with the Summer 2014 Matthew Elliott whose rigorous research and eye- much more than the traditional think dawn until after dusk. War on Waste National Roadshow Founder catching campaigns ensure that the tank which publishes a fascinating Social media also play an brilliantly demonstrating their value. @matthew_elliott voice of the taxpayer never now goes paper, only then to gather dust on the increasingly important part in helping And – crucially – as we seek to unheard. shelf. us to get our message out to the wider influence the decision-makers, public. I am hugely proud of what we Led so well by Jonathan Isaby and we argue our case directly as we It’s funny now to think of a world have achieved in the decade since John O’Connell, our campaign team lobby politicians and officials in without the TaxPayers’ Alliance. our launch with the first ever edition takes our research findings to the Our model of Westminster and Whitehall. of the Bumper Book of Government Over the last ten years the wider world, highlighting problems integrated and sustained We have succeeded in changing organisation has seriously established Waste. where they exist and campaigning for numerous policies over the years itself as a voice for ordinary taxpayers We now have an exemplary track change where it is required. campaigning has and all those victories were achieved record of extracting data from public both in the media and in the corridors Newspapers play a critical role achieved real results thanks to our tried and tested of power, with a campaigning reach bodies – or analysing what is already in reaching millions of people, so model of integrated and sustained in the public domain – to create across the nation. we work with journalists on local, campaigning. Yet until its founding in 2004, compelling reports, detailing how our regional and national papers to But Twitter and Facebook are Now, as a watershed General there really wasn’t anyone out there money is being spent. ensure that our work makes the not alternatives to old-fashioned Election approaches, we will be to stand up for hard-pressed families headlines. grassroots campaigning – they merely campaigning with gusto to ensure and businesses, challenging all those TV and radio are equally crucial if complement it. that our voice is heard more loudly politicians and bureaucrats with a The voice of the penchant for taxing us too much taxpayer never now you want to reach a large audience That’s where TPA volunteers and – and our influence felt more widely and then wasting too much of the very quickly, which is why you’ll find activists around the country come – than ever before. proceeds. goes unheard So Andrew Allum and I are proud of our successful first decade, but what excites us more is the knowledge And then there’s the award-winning that we lead an organisation which is work we have done on tax reform, so well placed to fight the important with the 2020 Tax Commission battles ahead. providing a blueprint for a simpler, In the very early days, the TPA fairer tax system. had no office and no full-time staff: The archive of our reports and it was a small group of us meeting research papers on our website is informally and working on the project a veritable mine of information in our spare time. which stands as a testament to the But over time it evolved into painstaking efforts of all those who what it is today: a unique campaign have worked on them.

What others say about us... Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government “Apart from exposing the most egregious examples of waste Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister in local government, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has not only “…their values are the right ones: a low-tax helped empower local citizens but also regularly produced country with a low-waste Government. From constructive proposals as to how councils can cut that their eye-catching campaigns on the deficit and waste and cut Council Tax bills.” debt – to their calls for greater transparency in local government – they have fought tirelessly for taxpayers across the country.” Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Nick Ferrari, LBC 97.3 The Sun “The TaxPayers’ Alliance is to be congratulated Trevor Kavanagh, “We can all sleep safer in our beds on using its media profile in an effective and at night courtesy of the TaxPayers’ “The TaxPayers’ Alliance is to public thought-provoking manner to challenge elected spending what Dyno-Rod is to the politicians.” Alliance. Their beady, all-seeing public drains – it probes the spent and eye never lessens in intensity, and for that we must all be profoundly occasionally corrupt waste of elected and unelected government officials.” Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary grateful.” of State for Work and Pensions “Thanks to their determined campaigns and ground-breaking research, politicians Nigel Farage MEP, Leader of the UK from all parties must ensure value to the Independence Party Kate Hoey MP, Labour MP Tom Harris MP, “They are intellectual street fighters, taxpayer and eliminate wasteful and former minister Labour MP and highlighting waste not just at a Westminster expenditure.” “The TaxPayers’ Alliance plays former minister level, but also in our local councils and of an important role in keeping us course over the Channel in Brussels.” “The TaxPayers’ Alliance has on our toes and reminding us at spent the last decade making all times that the money that we Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, life pretty uncomfortable for allocate does not belong to the Government Chief Whip politicians and mandarins Government – it is the public’s who like spending the “There is no doubt that the public and must be used wisely.” public’s money. We owe purse is more carefully spent thanks them a debt of gratitude to the TPA’s work.” for that.” 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 13 Opinion

“These proposals are very brave, Prime Minister. Have you considered what the TaxPayers’ Alliance will have to say about them?” How do we provide value for money?

pressure group in Britain”. Andrew Allum Then there are the generous Co-Founder and observations from a selection of Chairman journalists and politicians from across the spectrum on the page opposite, which demonstrate that we are taken seriously by opinion Having been there with Matthew formers and decision makers alike. Elliott at the founding of the Such praise is not given lightly, TaxPayers’ Alliance, it is a huge and we deeply appreciate those privilege to still serve as its chairman. accolades, which are a fitting tribute With Matthew’s ambition and to the hard graft of all those who drive, along with the initial help have ever worked or volunteered of a small band of keen volunteers for the TPA. which included Allister Heath, But perhaps the biggest thanks Florence Heath, Saul Haydon should be reserved for the thousands Rowe, Nicola Murphy-Paige and of people like you who donate their Eben Wilson, we established what own hard-earned cash each year to has gone on to become “arguably support our work and keep the show the most influential pressure group on the road. in the country”, if you believe The Guardian. Or, if you prefer to take the We live within our Daily Telegraph’s word for it, we are means and only spend Jonathan Isaby and John O’Connell regularly meet Matthew Elliott and also report back to Andrew Allum “undoubtedly the most effective what we raise Government adhered to such fiscal That the team are committed to taxpayers worth £37 billion in 2014- discipline. the cause is demonstrated by the 15 alone. This is thousands of times Without those selfless Secondly, we work hard to make fact that no fewer than four of our our campaign costs and amounts to contributions, we simply wouldn’t every pound we raise go as far as current staff started out at the TPA £1,400 per household in the UK. be able to do what we do, exposing possible. as student volunteers. I think that’s pretty good value public sector waste and making the As chairman, I have never taken by anyone’s standards. And unlike case for lower, simpler taxes and a penny in remuneration, but we The TPA is funded many campaign groups, the TPA lower public spending. have a keen, young staff who work has never received – and would far longer hours than most working And since we demand value for entirely through the never accept – a penny in taxpayers’ in Westminster. And they all go the money from all those politicians money (e.g. via government or EU and bureaucrats who spend our extra mile when needed, whether generosity of concerned grants). money, it is only right that we make it be researchers analysing Budget taxpayers like you The TPA is funded entirely the same guarantee to all those who announcements through the night have dipped into their own wallets or members of the campaign team through the generosity of concerned to support us. getting up at the crack of dawn And their impact is clear. In fact, taxpayers like you. First of all, we have no debts – to make an early morning radio we calculated at the time of our tenth So if you agree with us and want we never have done and never will. appearance or coming into London anniversary in February 2014 that to help at this critical stage of our We live within our means and only during their weekend to do a TV our various successful campaigns fight, please turn to page 16 to see spend what we raise. If only the interview. had helped to secure savings for how you can support us. 14 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES Life Announcements Comings and goings Dear Dia... As Matt Sinclair departed to take up his new role with an economics * consultancy in December 2013, Your problems answered Jonathan Isaby was promoted to Chief Executive of the TPA. In turn, John O’Connell, who has been a member of the team Politicians have created perfectly I can’t believe how small a since 2009, took up the post of Director, while Dia Chakravarty legal ways of avoiding tax proportion of my earnings is was appointed Political Director. taken in tax each year In May 2014, Andy Silvester joined our team as Campaign Dear Dia, I have been taken aback to find myself vilified in the Manager (Communications) after media because of the way in which my accountant Dear Dia, our Campaign Director, Robert I can’t help but be outraged at how small my tax bill is Weddings arranged my tax affairs. The reason that I employ him is Oxley, went to work for Matthew each year. I can’t believe that the Government is only because the system is so complicated that I need to defer Elliott’s new campaign, Business Congratulations to TPA Founder taking less than half of all my earnings. I think that I to someone who understands all the small print. As far for Britain. In June 2014, Jennifer Matthew Elliott, who married should be taxed at a far higher rate. What do you suggest? as I can tell, the politicians have created perfectly legal Salisbury Jones joined our team as Sarah Smith in Washington D.C. in ways of reducing tax liabilities, so what am I supposed Polly, London Campaign Manager (Grassroots) August 2014. to do?! and in August 2014 Jordan Taylor was appointed Policy Analyst, whilst Speaking engagements Gary, Cheshire Dear Polly, Alex Wild was appointed Research TPA staff addressed 97 meetings I think you will find that you are in a distinct minority – Director. He succeeded Rory and events across Britain over the Dear Gary, most people in this country feel that they are overtaxed. Meakin, who became a Research past year, including fringe events The good news is that should you wish to make an Thanks for your letter (I always preferred you over Fellow, as did former digital policy at the Conservative, Labour and additional voluntary contribution to the Exchequer, Robbie by the way). You’re absolutely right to identify analyst, Dominique Lazanski. We UKIP party conferences; the you can write a cheque payable to HMRC and send it the complicated nature of the tax system as the target to also bade farewell to Eleanor Mc Cambridge Festival of Ideas; the directly to them. attack here. We at the TaxPayers’ Alliance have proposed Grath who has moved back to her Freedom Festival; the HMRC Tax radical tax simplification as the way to make it easier for native Ireland; and Andrew Allison, Transparency Sector Board; the all of us to navigate the tax code and to restore people’s Dia who gave us five years’ sterling Joseph Rowntree Foundation; the faith in the system (see page 4 for more detail). With service as our National Grassroots National Association of Estate a far simpler system, you wouldn’t need to employ an Coordinator. Agents annual conference; and the accountant and as for filling in your tax return, it would I’m appalled by the attempts to Young Britons’ Foundation annual only take a minute! I should add that if you’re interested Student volunteers activist training conference. We undermine trade union power in making a donation to support the work of the TPA, also addressed hundreds of students A special thanks to the 27 student please turn to page 16 for details. volunteers who helped us in across the country at universities including Durham, Essex, Exeter Dear Dia, our Westminster office between Dia As general secretary of a trade union with large numbers September 2013 and August 2014: and Oxford, and spoke to business and community groups from of members working in the public sector, I am appalled Sam Austrums; James Bennett; by the attempts being made to undermine our power. Charles Brandon; Chris Carter; Chester to Woodford and Banbury I am desperately looking for some to Finchley. My union performs a useful function in society and Helen Chandler-Wilde; Sara Fazal; ideas to improve the state of the my workers rely on the representation we offer to get Joshua Goodkin; Camilla Goodwin; nation’s finances – please help! the best possible deal on pay and conditions. I could Katherine Gray; Matthew Harker; do without the TaxPayers’ Alliance interfering in our Tom Harry; Sandra Larsson; business. Mark Malik; Chris Manby; Adam McBride; Thomas Meaden; Roecker Dear Dia, Len, Liverpool Melick; Chloe Mingay; Roland Ahead of the General Election I am looking for some Mortimer; Taimour Mughal; Iona ideas to improve the state of the nation’s finances that Primavera; Michael Riley; Chris would resonate with people and be electorally popular. Dear Len, Rogers; Alexander Sansom; Rustin What do you recommend? The TaxPayers’ Alliance does not dispute your trade Sarhadi; Annabel Shaw and Henry Dave, Oxfordshire union’s right to exist and function, and we certainly Thorpe. Particular thanks should have no desire to interfere in its internal running. also go to Sonia Khan, who played However, there are several issues where we do see fit to a considerable role in establishing Parliamentary Dear Dave, intervene. Firstly, we object to the taxpayer being forced the TPA Action Team and making Aside from the tax simplification proposals I mentioned to subsidise union activity both through direct grants preparations for the War on Waste The TaxPayers’ Alliance was cited to Gary above, the priority of anyone seeking to improve from the Government and so-called facility time worth Roadshow. 29 times in Hansard between the state of the nation’s finances should be to reduce the in excess of £100 million per year. (Why is it, by the September 2013 and August 2014. deficit to zero so that you can then set about reducing way, that public sector workers taking this facility time Chief Executive Jonathan Isaby the burgeoning national debt. This will involve cutting to undertake union duties – when taxpayers are paying gave oral evidence to the Public out frivolous and unnecessary spending by the state them to do something else – take nearly four times as Administration Select Committee and to that end I would strongly recommend waging much time out as their private sector counterparts?) on quangos and to the Communities War on Waste across Whitehall and the wider public sector. Unless you take serious action on this front, and Local Government Select Furthermore, it is totally unfair to taxpayers that unions you will continue to rack up debts for our children and Committee on town hall pay. Robert often get given ‘free’ (i.e. taxpayer-funded) office grandchildren to bear, which is irresponsible in the Oxley gave evidence to the Public space, phone lines, etc. from local councils and the like, Accounts Committee of the Welsh extreme. with many public sector bodies even processing your Assembly on public sector pay. members’ subscriptions at no cost to the union. If I want The TPA also held parliamentary Dia briefings on Work for Dole, Mansion to join an organisation that gives me benefits, I expect Tax, Stamp Duty, the Autumn my subs to cover it – not force the unwitting taxpayer Media coverage Statement and the Budget. to chip in. Finally, you and your pals insist on calling Dear Dia, your workers out on strike – causing inconvenience to From September 2013 to August Ahead of the General Election I am looking for some the rest of us – to protest against reforms to the pay 2014, we were cited over 4,100 ideas to improve the state of the nation’s finances that times in print and broadcast media, would resonate with people and be electorally popular. and pension packages which they enjoy. Quite apart reaching an estimated 32 million What do you recommend? from the questionable legitimacy of strikes based on people; and over 8,000 times online, Ed, Doncaster ballots conducted on a derisory turnout, you would do reaching millions more around the well to remember that public sector workers are paid on world. average 7%-8% more than those in the private sector Dear Ed, and that, again, it is simply not fair to demand the kinds Birthdays Read my advice to Dave above. Exactly the same applies of deals that those of us footing the bills are unable to to you. enjoy ourselves. Happy Birthday to the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which turned ten in February 2014. Dia Dia *Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental for the purposes of satire and to foster political debate 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES 15 Life Taxing Times Quiz TAXING TIMES CROSSWORD

1. The first edition of which publication, now on its sixth edition, heralded the launch of the TPA in February 2004? 2. What reason has been given for the fact that the apostrophe is never included whenever the TaxPayers’ Alliance is cited in Hansard reports of House of Commons debates? 3. In 2011, the world’s fastest speaker (pictured) failed our challenge to read all current volumes of Tolley’s Tax Guide in one sitting: if he’d stayed awake, how long would it have taken him? 4. In 2006, hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition against which tax after the TPA teamed up with the Daily Express in a campaign calling for its abolition? 5. Who in 2009 described the TPA’s campaigning against public sector waste thus: “Drip, drip, drip. Day after day an insidious poison is fed into the nation’s veins”? 6. What prompted MPs to think that TPA Founder Matthew Elliott had infiltrated the House of Commons chamber in 2010? 7. Activists in which two Commonwealth countries formed new taxpayer groups in 2012 and 2013 respectively, both citing the TPA as their inspiration? 8. Who is the American economist (pictured) who spoke on a TPA platform in London in 2010 and endorsed our Single Income Tax report as “amazing”?

9. Which Page 3 girl and reality TV star ACROSS 22. Occurs when people are without work 6. Income, Corporation and Capital Gains graced the pages of The Sun in support 2. The process of transferring ownership and, hopefully, actively seeking work are all examples of this kind of tax (6) of our campaigns against rises in tax from the public sector to a more (12) 8. Resources, particularly money, which both on petrol and beer? competitive owner (13) 24. The curve demonstrating the are kept rather than spent (7) 4. The welfare system comprises a whole relationship between taxation levels 12. The extent to which time, effort or cost 10. The Government enshrined in law the range of these (8) and government revenue (6) is well used for the intended task or 6. Opposite of surplus (7) 25. The tax paid by the bereaved (11) purpose (10) right of citizens to report, film, tweet 7. A person who pays taxes (8) 14. Opposite of 6 Down (8) and blog at council meetings after a 9. The economic school of thought which DOWN 15. The sum of all earnings received by an grassroots TPA campaign focused on the secretive and opaque nature believes in the long run we are all dead 1. The TPA has identified at least £120 individual or household (6) of which local authority? (9) billion of this across government (5) 16. The productive sector of the economy 10. One of the many consumption taxes 2. The sector of the economy run by the (7) 11. This loss-making monstrosity (abbr.) (3) state (6) 18. Collectively, residents’ elected representatives at a local authority (7) of an arts centre (pictured) 11. The result of borrowing money you 3. The sustained increase in the general cannot afford (4) price level of goods and services in an 19. The increase in the market value of cost taxpayers £72 million, yet 13. The curve demonstrating the historical economy over a period of time (9) the goods and services produced by an was closed five years after it inverse relationship between rates of 5. The kind of economy where central economy over time (6) opened. What was it called unemployment and corresponding government allocates all or most 21. The UK tax man (abbr.) (4) rates of inflation (8) resources (7) 23. Nothing in life is... (4) and where is it? 17. An unaccountable body created by ministers to perform certain functions 12. Since our founding in 2004, outside of a government department how much money have we (6) accepted in funding from 20. The members of the executive selected SPOT THE DIFFERENCE by, and including, the Prime Minister government and the EU? (10)

Fill the grid with the numbers 1 to 9 so that each row,

ANSWERS SUDUKO column and 3x3 block contains the numbers 1 to 9.

the Hong Kong tax code (right) code tax Kong Hong the

The UK tax code (left) and and (left) code tax UK The

Spot the difference: the Spot 5 4 6

19. Growth 21. HMRC 23. Free 23. HMRC 21. Growth 19.

14. Indirect 15. Income 16. Private 18. Council Council 18. Private 16. Income 15. Indirect 14. 7 8 1

5. Command 6. Direct 8. Savings 12. Efficiency Efficiency 12. Savings 8. Direct 6. Command 5.

1. Waste 2. Public 3. Inflation Inflation 3. Public 2. Waste 1. DOWN DOWN

22. Unemployment 24. Laffer 25. Inheritance 25. Laffer 24. Unemployment 22. 9 6 4 13. Phillips 17. Quango 20. Government Government 20. Quango 17. Phillips 13.

7. Taxpayer 9. Keynesian 10. VAT 11. Debt 11. VAT 10. Keynesian 9. Taxpayer 7. 8 3 5 2. Privatisation 4. Benefits 6. Deficit Deficit 6. Benefits 4. Privatisation 2. ACROSS ACROSS

Crossword Answers: Crossword 6 7 3 9

tanks! think and groups campaign all for said

12. Not a penny, of course - which cannot be be cannot which - course of penny, a Not 12.

Yorkshire Council 11. The Public, West Bromwich Bromwich West Public, The 11. Council Yorkshire 8 3 2

Laffer 9. Lacey Banghard 10. East Riding of of Riding East 10. Banghard Lacey 9. Laffer

Elliott 7. Australia and New Zealand 8. Dr Art Art Dr 8. Zealand New and Australia 7. Elliott

recently-elected Matthew Hancock as Matthew Matthew as Hancock Matthew recently-elected 2 3 7

6. Speaker John Bercow mistakenly called the the called mistakenly Bercow John Speaker 6.

in Toynbee Polly 5. Tax Inheritance

The Guardian The 8 5 2

reducing printing costs 3. More than five days 4. 4. days five than More 3. costs printing reducing

2. It saves taxpayers’ money by by money taxpayers’ saves It 2. Government Waste Government

1. 1. Quiz Answers: Quiz The Bumper Book of of Book Bumper The 6 4 3 16 2014-2015 | TAXING TIMES

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