Data released by the government this week revealed the shocking rise in council tax for households in England. We immediately pored over mountains of data and discovered that since 2001 bills have increased by a staggering 111 per cent.
Residents of Nottingham will have the highest band D council tax bill for 2021-22 at £2,226. Perhaps more concerning is our discovery that more than a third of local authorities in England are charging over £2,000.
Conversely, only two councils had bills less than £1,000, with Westminster and Wandsworth charging £829 and £845 respectively. Despite bills of £2,099 residents of Hartlepool saw the smallest increase in both cash and percentage terms in England at £6.91 or 0.3 per cent.
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As our interactive heatmap shows, for the most part, residents in Wales pay less council tax than those in England. The steepest council tax rise was in Wrexham at 6.4 per cent. Compare this to 2019-20 when four Welsh authorities increased rates by over 9 per cent.
Generally speaking, Scottish ratepayers have fared best - all 32 local authorities froze council tax this year. But this was thanks to significant funding from the Scottish government. One way or another taxpayers will be picking up the tab.
Our analysis and comments were picked up by Britain's biggest newspapers, notably The Sun, The Mirror and Daily Mail. This latest round of rises will hit residents hard. Crushing council tax bills are the last thing taxpayers need as we emerge from the coronavirus crisis, which has put real pressure on household budgets.
The TaxPayers' Alliance is telling every single council to get real and start tackling wasteful spending, by scrapping pointless pet projects and stopping top staff pay rises. There is more to come so watch this space!
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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A much-needed victory on 'Tax Day'
Tuesday was dubbed ‘Tax Day’ as the Treasury released more than 30 separate tax consultations and updates. Most of the announcements were somewhat underwhelming, but there was a much-needed win for taxpayers on inheritance tax.
Under new plans, 200,000 fewer estates will need to complete lengthy forms. Speaking to the Express our chief executive John O'Connell very much welcomed the news: "Minimising the red tape faced by grieving families is the right step. Limiting paperwork is long overdue, but inheritance tax remains deeply unfair and unpopular. The best way to simplify the system would be to abolish this death tax and show a more compassionate attitude towards the bereaved.”
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On air passenger duty, the government plans to increase taxes on long haul flights but slash duties for domestic ones. Asked for comment, John told The Sun, “Opening the door to domestic air passenger duty cuts is welcome news. Flyers need tax cuts to make travel as cheap as possible and help our battered airlines industry. Simplifying or outright abolishing airfare taxes would be the perfect way to help post-pandemic Britain really take off.”
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Britain's foreign aid waste
Debate continues to rage on Britain's multi-billion pound foreign aid spending. As part of our efforts to get taxpayers the best value for money, we compiled a report of ten wasteful overseas aid projects. These were covered in the Mail on Sunday and include everything from "friendship benches" in Zimbabwe to "eco-hammams in Morocco".
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Our findings received backing from Conservative MP Peter Bone who described the millions spent on the projects as "mind-bogglingly stupid". And speaking to the Mail on Sunday, John O’Connell added "Taxpayers were fed up with billions being squandered overseas long before we were hit with the worst recession in a generation."
The TaxPayers' Alliance will continue to call out wasteful aid spending and demand the government put a stop to it.
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Standing up for over-taxed motorists
The government has announced plans to clamp down on private car park firms. Many of these companies use taxpayer-funded resources such as DVLA and council data to administer fines.
Speaking to talkRadio present Mike Graham, our digital campaign manager Joe Ventre welcomed the plans. He told Mike that motorists are already heavily taxed and "disproportionate" fines only worsen the burden on them.
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Joe also questioned if councils are using parking charges and fines as a way to raise revenue. Of these may be merited but local authorities must ensure that they are not deterring people from shopping in towns centres and hinder Britain's economic recovery.
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In conversation with Roger Bootle
Thank you to everyone who joined our online discussion between Telegraph columnist Roger Bootle and TPA chairman Mike Denham. Roger gave great insight into our theme of "how worried should we be about the national debt" as well as the bigger macroeconomic picture.
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I found his comments on getting public spending under control particularly interesting. He highlighted the "massive waste in the public sector" and criticised the government for "cutting all the wrong things". Roger even said that if he were a Treasury mandarin and asked to make savings, he "would immediately cancel HS2." Don't worry if you missed the event you can watch the full recording here.
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How to reform business rates and support businesses
This was followed by an excellent panel in association with ConservativeHome tackling the challenging issue of the future of business rates. Given the damage caused by the pandemic - creating conditions where businesses can flourish is absolutely vital to the economy's recovery.
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Click here to watch this thought-provoking discussion. The TPA will continue to hammer home the message that our tax system needs an urgent overhaul. Too many companies suffer under the weight of government bureaucracy and red tape. We will not let up in making our case at the highest levels of government.
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How taxing was 'Tax Day'?
Delving further into 'Tax Day' our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall has written a great article examining the key taxpayer talking points. For example, on news the government has launched a review of the tax administration framework she writes, "With one of the longest tax codes in the world, the system is in dire need of a thorough assessment."
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Adding, "The priority should be reducing and simplifying the UK tax code, making it more accessible for everyone from individuals and small businesses to our biggest employers." Hear! Hear!
The TaxPayers' Alliance examined the impact of self-assessment tax returns in a recent blog and will be responding to the forthcoming consultation. Stay tuned for more details.
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Leeds council splashes £900,000 on home working
A report from Leeds City Council has revealed that the authority spent £895,000 of taxpayers' cash to enable staff to work from home during the pandemic. In total 8,472 new pieces of equipment were purchased.
Questions have been rightly asked about whether this is good value for money or not. Readers may recall in April last year members of parliament were entitled to claim up to £10,000 in expenses for home working.
While it's not unreasonable for staff to have access to what they need, Leeds council must make sure the cash is used properly and not seen as a personal equipment slush fund.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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