COMMENT: The housing affordability crisis is caused by planning rules and taxes
An abridged version of my letter to the Evening Standard in response to their leading editorial on the housing affordability crisis was published today. The full version is copied below: How can two...
View ArticleComment: The farce of union pilgrims
Writing for The Commentator Alex Wild argues the farce of taxpayer funding of trade unions must end. The Taxpayers’ Alliance has today exposed the scandalous extent to which the public are still...
View ArticlePublic bodies’ incomprehensible or misleading responses to trade union...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance yesterday exposed the scandalous amount of taxpayers’ money being used to subsidise trade union activity through both direct grants and so-called facility time. Finding out how...
View ArticleDenis MacShane’s disgraceful abuse of taxpayers’ money underlines urgent need...
17: 00 Update: Following Denis MacShane’s announcement of his resignation Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance commented: “It is absolutely right that Denis MacShane has...
View ArticleThe Government must act over the crippling cost of fuel duty
Motorists everywhere will be disappointed that MPs voted down yesterday’s attempt to reverse the Government’s proposed fuel duty rise. The proposed 3p increase is totally unacceptable when car owners...
View ArticleHull Council votes through a levy on small businesses
Last year, a vote was held in Hull on whether to retain the Business Improvement District (BID) in the city for another 5 years. To be approved, BID proposals must receive both a majority of votes...
View ArticleHouse of Commons committee calls for Air Passenger Duty to be scrapped
The House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has suggested Air Passenger Duty (APD) on short-haul flights should be eliminated. The tax was said to be a “major stumbling block” to rebuilding...
View ArticleWhitehall departments must get on with delivering transparency for taxpayers
One of David Cameron’s first acts as Prime Minister was to order all 17 central Whitehall departments to publish information relating to spending and salaries. So it is deeply depressing to find out...
View ArticleWho are councillors meant to represent: their residents in the Town Hall or...
For a long time the TPA has been concerned about the rise in the number of professional politicians in local government who seem more keen on clambering aboard the gravy train than doing their civic...
View ArticleCut FOI costs by publishing more, not weakening the law
The Government has unveiled a series of proposals aimed at limiting people’s ability to make Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The news is concerning as the Freedom of Information Act has given...
View ArticleHammersmith and Fulham cut Council Tax by 3 per cent
Hammersmith and Fulham Council announced a 3 per cent cut in Council Tax today, the sixth cut in the last seven years. The latest cut reduces the average “band D” council tax bill by £23.44. Since...
View ArticleRoyal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead look to deliver fourth successive...
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is looking to continue its recent tradition of delivering tax cuts for hard-pressed residents. Council Leader David Burbage proposed a substantial reduction...
View ArticleFurther hidden costs to HS2
The Daily Telegraph has revealed further, hidden costs to the taxpayer of high-speed rail. Now council taxpayers who live along the proposed route will be expected to cough up even more for the white...
View ArticleNew Video – Broken Promises: Inheritance Tax
The Government have announced that, instead of increasing the threshold for Inheritance Tax to £1 million as they promised, the threshold will be frozen. That will mean more and more people paying...
View ArticleVictory for StopFundingArgentina
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has been running an important campaign – with new research, a viral video and the StopFundingArgentina.org e-petition – to stop British taxpayers’ money being used to support...
View ArticleCOMMENT: Why no conservative should support a mansion tax
Writing for the Spectator Coffee House blog Matthew Sinclair argues that a Mansion Tax would be an ugly political gesture and a huge burden on those forced to pay while the idea that capital income is...
View Article95% of small businesses think business rates are too high
Many people enjoy hitting their local high street and spending their hard-earned cash in their favourite stores. However, rising business rates are posing an increasingly serious threat to more and...
View ArticleTaxPayers’ Alliance urges David Cameron to cut burdensome taxes
Reacting to David Cameron’s speech on the economy, Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), said: “The Prime Minister is absolutely right that easing the heavy burden of...
View ArticleThe “Bedroom tax” isn’t a tax but it is a sticking plaster to a bigger problem
When is a tax not a tax? When it’s the “Bedroom Tax”, which is in fact a change to housing benefit and not a tax. Campaigners, charities and Ed Miliband have thrown this term around to describe the...
View ArticleHow to give Council Tax payers a break
Many local authorities are using the excuse of cuts in central government grants to increase Council Tax. But some are actually getting on with delivering good services without reaching into taxpayers’...
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