The tax system is complicated. We all know it. The UK tax code runs to tens of thousands of pages adding enormous costs (and stress) to individuals and businesses alike. Itâs why simplification is one of the TPAâs core campaign issues. We stand for lower but also simpler taxes.
But many people, some politicians especially, simply donât realise how many taxes theyâre subject to, why theyâre so damaging, and what can be done to fix them. Which is where our tax briefing room comes in.
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The tax briefing room looks at 28 individual taxes, most ripe for reform and many for abolition. Some weâre all familiar with such as fuel duty or national insurance, some you might not have directly encountered in your day-to-day lives like the landfill tax or the apprenticeship levy, but rest assured, youâre paying them one way or another.Â
From air passenger duty (scrap it) to income tax (simplify and cut), the briefing room is a comprehensive resource for journalists, parliamentarians, and taxpayers alike.Â
Writing in CapX the TPAâs Darwin Friend noted: âOver the past two years, our politicians and policymakers have delivered a tax system that is even more burdensome and complicated than before. Which is quite some feat.â
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On an educational kick, Callum McGoldrick sat down in the TPA studio to bust five tax myths. From the idea that increasing taxes raises more revenue to wealth taxes solving inequality, Callum tackles these fantasies that refuse to die head on. Give it a watch here.
This might not be the most glamorous part of our work, but itâs certainly incredibly important. The tax system is now so complicated, it often seems that even those responsible for it donât understand it. The tax briefing room is an essential resource for campaigners, policymakers, politicians and taxpayers, educating people about whatâs wrong with our tax system and what needs to be done about it. Can you support our future research by clicking here to donate?
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Fighting Wokeism & Restoring The National Trust
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For this weekâs episode of a nation of taxpayers, podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by Elliot Keck and cultural campaigner and commentator Zewditu Gebreyohanes.
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Zewditu is a former director of Restore Trust - the pressure group that aims to get the National Trust to return to basics. She also wrote a report earlier this year entitled 'A shell of its former self - Is The National Trust Being Mismanaged?'Â
They discuss the current state of the National Trust and how many organisations have slipped into the world of woke. Be sure to give this latest episode of a nation of taxpayers a listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Â
You can also freely subscribe to Zewditu's excellent Substack, The Custodian, here.
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Threshold freezes punishing Brits
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New TPA research this week revealed the hammering taxpayers are taking thanks to frozen tax thresholds. As Rachel Reeves scrambles around to find an additional ÂŁ50 billion to make up for her calamitous decisions, we exposed how the freeze on tax thresholds is dragging more and more people into higher and higher tax brackets, and particularly putting a bigger burden on middle earners.
While wealthy individuals flee the chancellorâs tax grabs, our analysis found that the top one per cent are expected to pay 26.6 per cent of all income tax receipts in 2025-26, which is down significantly from the 30.7 per cent they paid in 2021-22. Almost 2.9 million more people are paying the basic rate of income tax compared to 2021-22 while over 2.6 million more are paying the higher rate.
John OâConnell explained to journalists: âThe UK is now trapped in a doom loop with the Chancellor desperately scrabbling around for more cash to fill the fiscal black hole and increasingly finding her only option is to come after the middle classes.â
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Elliot popped up on Talk and gave his view on what our hapless chancellor might look to do next: âTheyâre probably going to look at frozen tax thresholds.They can formally say they havenât increased tax rates but of course with inflation and pay rises, it is a tax rise. Otherwise I think theyâll come after people's savings and people's pensions, all those sorts of things.â
Of course there is another way. Reeves could choose to tackle our spending addiction, cutting waste and borrowing, and cutting taxes. Iâm not sure we should be holding our breath for Rookie Rachel to do the right thing.
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William Yarwood made his debut in the GB News opinion section this week with an op-ed on what we should be doing with the foreign nationals currently serving time at His Majestyâs pleasure.
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Drawing on our analysis from last week which showed foreign prisoners are costing UK taxpayers up to ÂŁ600 million a year, William makes clear what we ought to be doing with offenders from overseas: âWhy should a young British couple struggling to pay rent and suffering under a record-high tax burden have to foot the bill for a Romanian burglar whoâs racking up tens of thousands in prison costs? Why should a hard-working single mum be paying for an Albanian gang memberâs three square meals a day? Deporting these criminals isnât just sensible - itâs a moral duty. The government owes it to the victims, owes it to the public, and they owe it to the taxpayers who are being asked to subsidise the very people making their communities less safe and inhospitable.â
Have a read of Williamâs op-ed here.
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Purple paint is no substitute for policing
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In this weekâs blog, Anne Strickland takes a look at the latest desperate measures being taken by private businesses in London as the capital is gripped by a phone theft epidemic.
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Rather than painting âmind the grabâ on the pavement, Anne has some more robust recommendations for the Met that I suspect most people reading this would agree with: âTaxpayers fund police to catch criminals, courts to punish them, and a justice system to keep streets safe. Not comms campaigns. What works is not a mystery. Effective crime prevention requires visible police presence, rapid response to incidents, thorough investigation of crimes, and meaningful sentences for convicted offenders. It requires a justice system that sides with victims, not one that treats criminal behaviour as a fact of life that must be managed through public messaging campaigns.â Have a read of Anneâs blog here.
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You really couldnât make it up. Bureaucrats in HMRC thought it was a good idea to have a seminar on whether we should feel guilty for being British. Joanna Marchong took to the GB News studio to give her take. Have a watch below.
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Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager
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