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On Wednesday, Jeremy Hunt appeared before the treasury select committee to answer questions about some of the finer points contained in his recent Spring Budget. For the most part, the chancellor’s answers simply held the party line and defended the many issues surrounding his fiscal programme. As regular readers will know, we weren’t particularly impressed with his plans. But there was one part of Hunt’s appearance that gave us cause for optimism.Â
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When being quizzed on the abolition of the Office for Tax Simplification, the chancellor did acknowledge that the UK tax system is far too complex and told MPs that “I will continue to make sure, in as far as I am able in every fiscal event, to try and make progress on tax simplification”.Â
On this point, Jeremy Hunt is absolutely correct. Our tax code has ballooned over the last few decades and governments of all colours have exacerbated the problems, creating an ever greater burden on businesses and individuals.Â
Simultaneously, these mounting complications have created an enormous number of allowances and loopholes that enable those who can afford expensive accountants to avoid an ever greater number of taxes the rest of us pick up the tab for.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Inheritance tax trap
As Britain’s most hated tax, inheritance tax bills are something many Britons look to minimise by making gifts to family and loved ones to save those closest to them having to hand over hefty sums to HMRC at the most difficult of times. When it emerged this week that the treasury has raked in a massive ÂŁ650 million from grieving families under gifting rules, we were quick to call out the whole wretched system.Â
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Speaking for taxpayers across the country, our chief executive John O'Connell blasted the seven year survival rule telling Telegraph readers how “unfair the whole system of inheritance tax is, with households punished when loved ones die unexpectedly… As well as hammering families that fall foul of the rules, it also acts as a distortion to the tax system by encouraging the premature transfer of assets.”
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The wrong answer to the right question
With Keir Starmer claiming a Labour government would be freezing council tax this year, for a moment, the TPA team were ready to sing his praises. Sadly, as is so often the case, all was not as it first seemed with the plan to be funded by another hike in the windfall tax on energy companies.
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Joe Ventre, our digital campaign manager took to TalkTV to highlight the problems with Labour’s proposals: “Council tax is an enormous burden on households.. Unfortunately, their solution to the problem is completely the wrong one. It’s unsustainable. It’s not a good way to run an economy.”
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Sky high recruitment bills
We were shocked to learn this week that over ÂŁ500 million has been spent by the NHS on middlemen and jet-setting recruitment jaunts for overseas staff.
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With iPads, furniture, and gym memberships forming part of the spending, John slammed the shocking sums saying: “Taxpayers are bound to question why they are funding these globe-trotting recruitment drives.”
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Fiscal challenges for the first minister
With Hamza Yusuf having been elected the new leader of the SNP and first minister, in this week’s blog, our investigations campaign manager Elliot Keck has taken a look at some of the issues that ought to be at the top of his intray.Â
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From public spending and the tax burden to public services and the constitution, Elliot goes through the issues for taxpayers facing the new leader north of the border. Click here to read this fascinating blog.
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The TPA is no fan of the licence fee, and we’re even less keen to see £100 million of feepayers’ money spent bullying Brits into paying the BBC bung.
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As the Scottish Sun reported, only two people in Scotland were convicted of not paying the TV tax in the last 12 years. John rightly summed up the situation saying: “ Spending huge sums trying to bully households into paying simply won’t wash in the age of online streaming. Far better to scrap the TV tax altogether.” Hear hear!Â
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Benjamin Elks
Operations Manager
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