With reports this week that the chancellor is planning cuts to income tax as a pre-election giveaway, the obvious question to ask is: Why wait?!
Whilst Brits struggle under a 70 year high tax burden and the cost of living crisis, promises of jam tomorrow will do little to ease the pressures faced by hard-pressed households today.
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But even the changes being considered will do little to undo the damage to incomes from frozen tax thresholds, announced by Jeremy Hunt in his last Budget. As our head of research, Phil Basey, made clear in a punchy op-ed for the Daily Express, income tax would need to be cut by two pence this year and a further one pence next to make up for these stealth tax hikes. Phil summed it up perfectly saying: “As is so often the case, the Government gives with one hand and takes away with the other.”
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For our latest grassroots update Conor Holohan, our media campaign manager, has taken a look at Westminster council, where councillors have hiked their own special responsibility allowances by a massive 45 per cent!
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Off the back of council tax and social rent increases, senior councillors will be paying themselves more. As Conor says: “While residents are counting the pennies, local councillors are laughing all the way to the bank.” Town hall bosses should be focussed on keeping council tax down and delivering for residents rather than lining their own pockets. Sign our petition here if you agree!
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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PR policing
A TPA investigation, shared exclusively with the Daily Mail, uncovered that police forces across the UK spent a whopping ÂŁ34 million last year on spin doctors! At least 753 staff were identified as working in communication roles, while more than 5,000 crimes a day go unsolved.
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TPA researcher Tom Ryan slammed the spending saying: “Taxpayers are tired of their cash going towards misplaced priorities and non-jobs of questionable value.” Forces across the country must focus resources on cuffing criminals, not pricey PR professionals.
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Unwell Whitehall
After it emerged that civil servants took over 770,000 sick days last year, our investigations campaign manager, Elliot Keck, took to TalkTV to discuss with Julia Hartley-Brewer why we seem to have so many sickly civil servants.
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Citing previous TPA research, Elliot explained: “Clearly there is a problem with the civil service, with the culture. We’ve done research showing that tens of thousands of days have been taken off without a sick note despite one being required. We’ve also found that £55 million could be saved if civil service sick days were in line with private sector sick days.”
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Healthy perks for health service
With striking junior doctors this week demanding an inflation-busting 35% pay rise, it’s emerged that these trainee health professionals are claiming up to ÂŁ10,000 in tax free “life admin” expenses.Â
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From claims for stamp duty to furniture storage fees, it’s clear that headline pay is only part of the picture when it comes to the perks of working for the NHS. As John told Telegraph readers: “Households will rightly recognise that a doctor’s salary is just one part of the package. Ministers must ensure that when discussing pay, they view negotiations in the round.”
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Bonus bonanza
The scale of bonuses being shelled out to local government staff in London has been exposed by a TPA investigation in Friday’s Evening Standard. Over ÂŁ3 million was doled out in bonus payments last year.Â
We found that 54 parking staff in Hammersmith and Fulham got an average of £2,400 for their “quality and consistency” in part measured by “good presentation and correct uniform”. Staff at other councils were also rewarded for basic behaviours, such as with “welcome payments” for new-starters and bonuses for filling in for absent team members.
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In a splash that made the front page of the Evening Standard, Elliot blasted: “With taxes soaring to record highs, these handouts will be a kick in the teeth for local taxpayers.” London taxpayers will wonder why they are paying bonuses for staff doing the bare minimum.
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Why the WHO's World Health Day leaves little to celebrate
In this week’s blog, off the back of international quangos like the IMF and UNHRC being extremely critical of the UK recently, John has taken a deep-dive look at how funding the World Health Organisation (WHO) is costing British taxpayers dearly. He writes extensively about the inner-workings of this murky world of international agencies and globalist bodies.
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As John says: “It remains the case that British taxpayers have little say over how the money they give to the WHO is used… It's about time we asked more questions and expected more answers from this closed-door global quangocracy.” Click here to read this fascinating blog.
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Benjamin Elks
Operations Manager
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