By John O'Connell, TPA Research Director Wednesday’s Budget announcement needs to set out a path for lower taxes and get to work creating the conditions for a proper private sector-led recovery. There has been talk of rolling National Insurance and Income Tax together. As well as making the system simpler, that measure would increase tax […]
Matthew Sinclair is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. Just over a week ago, I tried to produce a list of those who have recently attacked the Government's proposals for a new high speed rail line. Even then the range of their opponents was striking: "Campaign groups including the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA); the RAC Foundation; the […]
by Matthew Sinclair The UK's print and TV news markets are clearly very different. The print news market is extremely competitive and products are highly differentiated in order to compete and find a niche in the market. The TV news market has only a few providers, and thanks to regulation there is a very limited […]
Matthew Sinclair is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. I've been writing a lot about the problems with high speed rail. The project is huge so there is a lot at stake. Early last month the TPA released a research note looking at the flaws in the business case for HS2 from senior railway executive Chris […]
Matthew Sinclair is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. Last week I wrote about how Philip Hammond was undermining the coalition's credibility on transparency. Estimates of the number of jobs created and properties affected by noise if the HS2 project goes ahead were given to the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times respectively for release well […]
I understand that Phillip Hammond wants to make the case for high speed rail. We disagree but we can have an honest debate about the issues. It is really important that the Government don't misuse their position though, and release statistics in a way that precludes a proper debate. There have been two claims released […]
Paul has written a very good post today about some of the limits of localism, but I disagree with his conclusions. He is certainly right that we shouldn't be Panglossian about it. In the short term, it is understandable that some people are concerned at what Tower Hamlets council might do with fewer checks on […]
Today the TPA has released a new research note looking at tax complexity. We've studied the length of the tax code in the Tolley's Tax Guides and how they have grown. Corporate tax has shown the most staggering growth. Tolley's Corporation Tax Guide But the complexity of income tax has also grown sharply. Tolley's Income […]
Lots of major projects are being cut back at the moment: the long suffering Nimrod is being broken up; we'll have aircraft carriers with no planes for years; some school upgrades planned under Building Schools for the Future have been cancelled. In an age of austerity High Speed Rail stands out like a sore thumb, […]
After the Emergency Budget the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Treasury engaged in an extended debate over whether the policies proposed were progressive. That was felt to be key to whether or not the fiscal adjustment was being carried out in a fair way, but I made this point, which Tim very kindly described […]
Matthew Sinclair is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. The growth figures showing a contraction at the end of 2010 are certainly worrying. They suggest the economy was really buried in the snow. And if growth was “flattish”, as the ONS suggests it would have been without the snow, even before a VAT hike then that […]
This morning we have announced the formation of the new TaxPayers' Alliance and Institute of Directors (IoD) 2020 Tax Commission. The list of Commissioners will contain plenty of people readers of ConservativeHome are familiar with including the Chair Allister Heath – Editor of City AM; Nick Bosanquet, Professor of Health Policy at Imperial College; Mike […]
I missed this over the holiday, but I think it's important to set the record straight. The anonymous blogger (though I have an idea who it is) says that the TaxPayers' Alliance "foolishly allowed" ourselves "to be dragged in" to a Mail on Sunday story about prominent politicians taking expensive trips to the Caribbean or […]
I think that the Mail called the big picture on the political implications of the British Social Attitudes survey right yesterday. While the banks are seriously unpopular right now, the public reject higher spending and don't want higher taxes. Even if they are bashing the rich, tax hikes only get 40 per cent support. As […]
Matthew Sinclair is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance. George Osborne should be doing all he can to make things easier for ordinary taxpayers, who are particularly hard pressed at the moment. It looks like he will at least stall rises in taxation on driving to work or going on holiday, but those taxes should be […]