Our latest research has calculated that packaging waste charges could cost households an extra £96 a year on their shopping bills, despite rubbish collection already being covered as part of council tax.
The proposed reforms from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme mean producers would have to pay the full cost for recycling packaging waste, approximately £2.7 billion.
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Food and drink industries are the largest users of packaging, meaning the tax is likely to hike the cost of grocery shopping. This could see households paying an extra £5,280 on shopping bills over their lifetimes.
And it comes despite the costs of rubbish collection already being included in council tax bills, which cost households around £79,415 across their lives.
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The TPA estimates that the wrapper tax, plastic bag levy, and online sales tax could together cost £284 a year, the same as two months of shopping for the poorest households.
The 'wrapper tax' would hit struggling families who are already facing rising food, energy and council tax bills. It will squeeze the poorest households by hiking up the cost of everyday essentials at the shops.
Once again we're calling on ministers to ease the burden on Brits before proceeding with this wrapper tax.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Now is not the time for MPs to get a pay rise
We're still fighting tooth and nail against the pay rise that was recently announced for members of parliament. Taking to the airwaves our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall, perfectly explained why this is a terrible time to boost MPs' pay packets.
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Appearing on GBNews she pointed out that households will suffer, "a 1.25 percentage point increase in national insurance, the cost of living is going up, inflation is at a 30-year high and wages are being cut by 1 per cent in real terms."
Taxpayers are really struggling at the moment. It isn't right that MPs are getting a 2.7 per cent pay boost. The TPA will keep banging the drum on this important issue. Click here to watch a clip from the interview.
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Council tax bills don't always have to go up
As I discussed last week, taxpayers are in for another year of council tax rises. So it was refreshing to see Harlow council bucking the trend.
Through its “efficiency dividend” residents in all bands will receive a council tax reduction of up to £50, without any cuts to frontline services. For my ConservativeHome column this week, I sat down with Russell Perrin, leader of Harlow council to find out what he is doing differently.
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He explained that being a district council means they don't have to worry about social care costs. But leaving this aside Russell and his team "noticed the council was unnecessarily padding its reserves.” - resulting in savings of £1.8 million.
Harlow should serve as a timely reminder to other local authorities that council tax doesn’t always have to go up. It may not be possible at every council but tired arguments about no more fat left to trim hold little water. Click here to read the full interview.
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NHS lagging behind rest of the world
An annual report of the world's best hospitals reveals not one NHS facility is in the top 25. Britain's top entry in the rankings only comes in at number 41. Given the huge sums taxpayers fork out for the health service it has once again raised questions about public spending.
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Giving his thoughts to the Daily Mail our chief executive John O'Connell demanded better service from NHS chiefs, "Given the new health and social care levy, British taxpayers may well wonder whether they are getting value for money. Healthcare bosses must ensure all patients get the level of care they need. These rankings raise serious questions about NHS performance and how it really compares to other countries."
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National insurance hike should be scrapped
One of the arguments behind the planned national insurance rise is to better fund health and social care. If it is the case that the health service needs more cash then the government doesn't need to dig ever deeper into taxpayers' pockets. Something I was keen to make clear when I appeared on GBNews earlier this week.
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Speaking to presenter Tom Harwood I argued that there are plenty of areas where ministers can save billions of pounds every year. Our previous research has estimated that 15 policy changes could save £73 billion by 2025-26.
Ahead of the spring statement, we're calling on the chancellor to abandon this terrible tax rise.
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If we can’t have a bonfire of the quangos, let’s have a sunset clause
A superb investigation from The Times newspaper has revealed the shocking state of affairs at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Staff have been sent home on full pay yet not required to work, with hardline unions preventing a return to the office while managers boast of wasting time watching Netflix.
As our political director James Roberts writes this week it's an absolute shambles and further highlights that the quangocracy has grown into an unwieldy mess. But what can be done to right the ship?
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The government should aim to streamline the quango state and drastically improve the bang for taxpayers’ buck. The easiest way to start would be with a bold measure to ensure quangos could never get too big to shut down - namely, a sunset clause.
Quangos would be given a definitive end date, after which parliament would be required to explicitly re-authorise the funding of the organisations - or simply let it expire. When the funds dried up, so too would the quango. This simple measure could begin to trim back years of government growth, and help clean up the state. Click here to read the full story.
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Chancellor pledges to cut wasteful spending
With the spring statement due next week, Rishi Sunak has said "the current level of waste across government is simply not acceptable". Consequently, he is launching an "efficiency drive" to make £5.5 billion worth on savings.
A serious effort to tackle waste across government is long overdue. In 2020 we uncovered £5.6 billion of waste. With the tax burden at a 70-year high, the chancellor must seek out savings, redirect funds to frontline services, and deliver some much-needed tax cuts. As suggested above, the quango state would be a great place to start!
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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