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The jobs tax
With the budget less than three weeks away, Westminster is awash with speculation of what might be included. Having abandoned the widow's tax for now ([link removed]) , and bound by their election pledge not to hike taxes on workers, specifically income tax, national insurance, or VAT, the chancellor is scrambling around to find ways to pay for her spending plans.

The thing about national insurance though is the two elements: employee and employer contributions. We’re all very familiar with employee national insurance - I certainly grumble each time I see it on my payslip - but people often don’t think about the employer contributions. For every employee on the books, a percentage of their salary is paid by the company to the treasury.
So naturally, when the topic came up at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, our ears pricked up. Leader of the opposition, Rishi Sunak, asked Keir Starmer whether he would rule out hiking employer contributions at the budget. When he failed to do so, alarm bells were ringing in the TPA office. In a flash ([link removed]) , John O’Connell, our chief executive, made it absolutely clear ([link removed]) what Starmer should do ([link removed]) : “The prime minister should stop searching for a cheap way out of his manifesto promise and rule out this rise for good.”

Why does this matter? Well, employer’s national insurance contributions are, quite simply, a tax on jobs. Every time a company hires someone, they have to factor in this cost. Everytime they want to give someone a pay rise, they have to factor in this cost. Higher employer contributions mean lower wages and fewer jobs. In the same way tobacco taxes are meant to put people off smoking, job taxes like this put businesses off hiring people.
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With all this talk about what will or won’t be announced by the chancellor, our head of campaigns, Elliot Keck, took to the BBC studios when he joined the Politics Live panel. In a wide ranging discussion that covered everything from water companies, to wealth taxes, and our national debt, Elliot was unrelenting in standing up for taxpayers and calling out those who claim all our problems can be solved by yet more government spending. Check out the full episode here. ([link removed])

Speaking of the national debt, a core part of our mission is to make sure politicians and taxpayers alike are informed about the issues, which is why we’ve published our latest factbook, The Indebted Kingdom ([link removed]) . A compact, easy to understand explainer of the national debt and the interest we’re paying, this factbook provides all the information you need to hold those who spend your money to account. Download your copy here. ([link removed])

Unlike politicians and bureaucrats, we don’t spend money we don’t have. Our campaigns rely on the generosity of hard working taxpayers. Can you help support the TPA by clicking here to donate? ([link removed])
A nation of taxpayers
Getting our message out to as many people as possible is key to our success and turning the tide on the high-tax, high-spend orthodoxy that seems to grip the corridors of power. That’s why we’re incredibly excited to announce our new podcast, A nation of taxpayers.

Produced and hosted by Duncan Barkes, a veteran journalist, broadcaster, and political adviser, each week we’ll be joined by different guests to discuss the latest issues affecting taxpayers, our latest research and campaigns, and lots more.

A nation of taxpayers will be available on all major podcast platforms and the first episode is out on Thursday. You won’t want to miss it.
TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
If they don’t change course, Labour will deepen the national debt

The latest TPA briefing note ([link removed]) was the focus of an op-ed from our media campaign manager, William Yarwood, this week. Our research explores just what has happened to the national debt and our debt interest payments over the years, and how different governments have added to, or reduced, the debt (hint, it’s normally the former).
Writing for CapX ([link removed]) , Will argues: “Decisions by successive prime ministers have left the public finances in a horrendous mess. The risks of this debt spiral are clear. With reduced fiscal flexibility, the UK could struggle to respond to future crises – whether another financial meltdown, a public health emergency, or demands for vital public service investment.”
One rule for us…

Almost without exception, council tax goes up for Brits every year. But it looks like those who like sending us a bill aren’t always keen on paying it themselves. We were shocked to learn that a number of councillors in Scotland have failed to pay ([link removed]) their own council tax bills.
Speaking to the Scottish Daily Express, Elliot gave the offending councillors ([link removed]) both barrels: “Scots will be sickened by this shameful scandal. While councils run deficits and cut vital frontline services, a cabal of councillors are covertly avoiding council taxes and forcing locals to carry the burden.” Hear, hear!
The answer to increasing public sector productivity is not ‘spend more money’

For years, public sector productivity has been sluggish to put it mildly. Having grown just 0.2 per cent a year since 1997 (excluding the pandemic), boosting productivity is vital if public services are to improve. Naturally, many seem to think that simply spending more money is the way to fix this but, as TPA researcher, Shimeon Lee, argues in an op-ed for ConservativeHome, throwing more cash at this issue isn’t the answer ([link removed]) .
Shimeon rightly argues: “under so-called austerity, productivity increased. From 2010 to 2019, inputs grew by an average of 0.5 per cent. But during that same period, outputs increased by more than double that, an average of 1.2 per cent” and we must all do our part to “keep productivity at the top of the agenda and ensure that we do not fall into the trap of thinking that spending more automatically translates into higher productivity when history proves it does not.” Have a read of Shimeon’s piece here. ([link removed])
Blog of the week
Five Takeaways from our Debt Clock Handbook

As mentioned earlier, our latest factbook ([link removed]) , The Indebted Kingdom, can now be read or downloaded from our website. Just in case you don’t have the time to read it, in this week’s blog, Will brings us his five key takeaways ([link removed]) .
From how our debt compares to the Weimar republic to the shortcomings of modern monetary theory, this one’s a must read ([link removed]) . As Will says: “With the budget coming up and conversations concerning the debt surfacing in political discussion, it's important to be armed with the facts.”
War on Waste
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As you’ll probably have guessed by now, we’re not really big fans of the licence fee here at the TPA. This week, Joanna Marchong, our investigations guru, reveals how just some of your cash is being squandered at BBC HQ ([link removed]) .

Send me your examples of wasteful public sector spending (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Wasteful%20spending)

Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager

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