Labourâs top brass seem to have been taken aback by the public fury that has been unleashed by Rachel Reevesâ changes to inheritance tax. As a reminder, sheâs had the brilliant idea to slap inheritance tax on family farms and businesses passed down to the next generation, meaning massive tax bills that will force many to sell up and leave their industry.
But they shouldnât be surprised. While they may tell themselves that theyâre on the side of the people by taking on the wealthiest in society, it turns out the people very much disagree with them. It turns out that taxpayers in every part of the country, from every social class, every age, every education level and even every political affiliation despise the changes. And not just that, they despise inheritance tax full stop.
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Polling for the TPA by Public First of over 2,000 Brits found that the country is unanimous in supporting cutting or abolishing inheritance tax, with every group bar those with a PhD (typical) considering it the most unfair. Our head of campaigns, Elliot Keck, produced a useful thread going through the polling and our research team produced an interesting briefing on the basics of inheritance tax.
Unlike Reeves and co, as the voice of taxpayers, we at the TPA have decided weâre going to listen to the public. Thatâs why we have launched a new campaign to scrap inheritance tax entirely. Interest in our campaign has been significant already - the polling for our campaign was covered in the Independent, Daily Express, and the Daily Mail. Our launch video has been watched tens of thousands of times across social media platforms.
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While we were delighted in particular to get the support of Richard Tice, the Deputy Leader of Reform UK, we know that this is going to be an uphill battle. We have a cash-hungry, wealth-hating Labour government and a Conservative opposition reluctant to make policy announcements. We desperately need your support in the weeks ahead to ensure this campaign gets as much attention as possible. You can help by clicking here to repost our video on X and clicking here to sign our petition.
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In this weekâs episode of a nation of taxpayers, podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by our media campaign manager, William Yarwood, and Fred de Fossard of the Prosperity Institute, formerly the Legatum Institute.
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Fred explains the thinking behind the recent name change of the Institute and the group also discuss the Southport stabbings, Donald Trump and the council that is giving away air fryers. Be sure to give the latest episode a listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Has Rachel Reeves crashed the economy?
New economic figures will have made grim reading for the chancellor. With borrowing, the deficit, debt, debt interest, and tax receipts all up, Rachel Reeves' economic plan, if you can call it that, is fast running out of road. In a helpful thread on X, Darwin Friend, our head of research, dives into the figures and highlights just how bad the latest numbers are.Â
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With Decemberâs borrowing being the third highest December on record after 2009 (the financial crash) and 2020 (Covid), Darwin made it absolutely clear to Express readers who is to blame: âThe latest borrowing figures put paid to the ludicrous claim that the new Government is fixing the foundations. The toxic cocktail of tax rises and spending increases that Reeves forced on the country in her disastrous Budget has completely derailed the public finances, which were hardly in a healthy state beforehand.â
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But thereâs still a way out
Despite the current bleak outlook, it doesnât have to be this way. Elliot used an op-ed in CapX to show the chancellor just how to get the nationâs finances back on track.
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In Elliotâs op-ed, which you can read here, he rightly says: âReeves does have an opportunity to rectify her mistakes. Reversing the tax rises and instead focusing her fiscal measures on spending reductions is the obvious solution and one which would tick the boxes of fiscal responsibility and growth that she claims to place at the heart of her economic strategy.â A boy can dreamâŠ
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Itâs time for a real âbonfire of the quangosâ
As Kemi Badenoch embarks on her ârenewalâ of the Conservative Party, itâs important the Tories understand what went wrong over the last 14 years. Donât get me wrong, itâs a long list but one thingâs for sure, the growth of the quango state and the farming out of responsibility is a major hamper for any government looking to make changes.
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In an op-ed for Conservative Home, our researcher, Callum McGoldrick, argues that taking back control from these unelected bodies must be a top priority for any future Conservative government. Callum writes: âAccepting the status quo created by Blair and following blithely along lies at the centre of that failure. Identifying where power lies, who holds it and what laws created it will be an important part of a governing agenda in the future.â Hear, hear!
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Why we are fighting the Windsor and Maidenhead tax hike
For much of the last week, our team have been pounding the pavements of Windsor and Maidenhead, campaigning against the councilâs bonkers proposal to hike council tax by an eye-watering 25 per cent.
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Our new grassroots intern, Oliver Dean, writes about his experiences on the ground in Maidenhead and why putting a stop to this increase is so important. As Oliver explains: âThe public is struggling financially. The last thing they need are tax hikes that will cost them hundreds of pounds a year. Yet, Windsor and Maidenhead council donât seem to recognise this. They donât seem to be able to grapple with the idea that their residents are not in a position to take the fall for the economic mismanagement that they have brought upon themselves.â Have a read of Oliverâs blog here.
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Getting homes built seems to be one of the great challenges of our age but itâs not difficult to see why there can often be substantial local opposition when the cost of schemes can leave taxpayers with bills running into the millions of pounds.
Residents of Maidstone in Kent are faced with picking up an ÂŁ8 million tab before a single brick has even been laid for a housing development which was initially only meant to cost ÂŁ3 million.
Local authorities must do everything in their power to get costs under control and deliver value for money for taxpayers. |
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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