The TaxPayers' Alliance - Home: Research by the TaxPayers' Alliance

The UK Pensions Crisis, November 2008: The research note shows the growing divide between public and private sector pensions. It also details how Gordon Brown's raid on private pensions has now cost pensioners £225 billion.

Total Lifetime Tax 2008, September 2008: The research note finds that the average household pays £668,000 in direct and indirect taxes over a lifetime, a 6 per cent rise on the previous year, while a household in the poorest fifth pays £264,000 over a lifetime, a jump of 13 per cent.

The Tax on Holidays Abroad, July 2008: The research note finds that the total UK tax bill on Britons holidaying abroad is almost £1.5 billion, over £30 for each of the 45 million holidays abroad taken by British residents each year.

The Great British TaxPayer Rip-Off, May 2008: Written by former Treasury civil servant Mike Denham, this report establishes the vast scale of Britain's taxpayer rip-off with taxes rising, charges rising and services cut.

The Tax on Christmas, December 2007: The research note, authored by former Treasury economist Mike Denham, shows that the average household pays £225 in indirect taxes over Christmas, making a total of £5.65 billion.

Total Lifetime Tax, October 2007: The 2007 Total Lifetime Tax update shows that the average household pays over £630,000, in today’s prices, in direct and indirect taxes.

Response to Tax Freedom Day, June 2007: The TPA response provides indicative estimates of tax freedom day in other OECD countries, putting Britain in its international context.

£1 Million Lifetime Tax by 2015, February 2007: The research note shows that, on present trends, the total amount of tax paid by the average household would reach £1 million over a lifetime by 2015.

The Real Cost of Gordon Brown, December 2006: The research note shows that if the tax burden as a share of GDP had stayed at its 1997 level, the basic rate of income tax could be reduced to 10 per cent.

Total Lifetime Tax, October 2006: The first reported calculation of the total amount of tax paid by households in different quintile groups over a lifetime.

Local government and council tax

Council Spending Uncovered II: No. 4 Town Hall Rich List 2009, April 2009: The fourth Council Spending Uncovered Paper and the third Town Hall Rich List provides details of over 1000 local authority employees with remuneration packages of at least £100,000, including 16 earning more than the Prime Minister.

Council Spending Uncovered II: No. 3 Pensions, February 2009: The report provides details on how councils spend a fifth of council tax on pensions and thousands of councillors are on the local government pension scheme.

Council Spending Uncovered II No. 2: Middle Management Pay, January 2008: The report, the second in the second Council Spending Uncovered series, shows that the number of council staff earning more than £50,000 has soared by more than 20 per cent between 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Council Spending Uncovered II No. 1: Publicity, December 2008: The report, the first of the second edition of the Council Spending Uncovered series, sets out the £430 million that councils are spending on publicity.

Council Spending Uncovered 5: The Ten Per Cent Challenge, April 2008: The fifth Council Spending Uncovered paper challenges councils to save 10 per cent in several key non-priority budgets and shows how that could allow them to cut Council Tax bills.

Council Spending Uncovered 4: Town Hall Rich List 2008, March 2008: The fourth Council Spending Uncovered Paper and the second Town Hall Rich List provides details of over 800 local authority employees with remuneration packages of at least £100,000, including 14 earning more than the Prime Minister.

Council Spending Uncovered 3: Pension Contributions, February 2008: The third paper in the Council Spending Uncovered series reveals that local authorities are spending £1 in every £5 of council tax revenue on employer pension contributions.

Council Spending Uncovered 2: Middle Management Pay, January 2008: The second paper in the Council Spending Uncovered series examines the increase in town hall spending on middle and senior management, giving details for all local authorities in the UK.

Council Spending Uncovered No. 1: Publicity, December 2007: The first paper in the Council Spending Uncovered series examines the doubling of council publicity spending over the past decade and gives details for all local authorities in the UK.

Council Mileage Allowances, October 2007: The survey of councils in the West Midlands reveals that all but two pay their staff more per mile than the HMRC approved rates.

Pre-Budget Report Projects 30 per cent Council Tax Rise, October 2007: TPA calculations show that the 30 per cent rise in council tax pencilled in by the Government over the next five years would lead to an average Band D bill of almost £1,700.

The Global Warming Industry in Local Government, July 2007: The research note gives details of employees working to reduce carbon emissions in a random sample of 25 local authorities.

Councillors’ Allowances, April 2007: A joint publication with Isitfair, the campaign for reform of the council tax system, giving details of councillors’ allowances in town halls across the country.

Town Hall Rich List, March 2007: A groundbreaking study, using the Freedom of Information Act, listing the names, positions and total remuneration of all staff in 230 local authorities earning over £100,000 a year.

Structure of government and quangos

ACA to YJB: A guide to the UK's semi-autonomous public bodies, October 2009: The report sets out a comprehensive guide to the semi-autonomous public bodies that now deliver huge areas of government policy, often outside democratic control.

How to save £50 billion: Reducing spending for sustainable public finances, September 2009: The report, produced in co-operation with the IoD, sets out spending cuts that could save £50 billion in public spending.

Taxpayer funded lobbying and political campaigning, August 2009: The report sets out how £37 million is spent on taxpayer funded lobbying and political campaigning and calls for that spending to be abolished.

Paying for the Credit Crunch: Sharing the proceeds of thrift, by William Norton, March 2009: William Norton sets out his case that Government wastes tens of billions of pounds that can be, and needs to be, saved.

An affordable voice for business: Reforming the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, February 2009: The report sets out the case for significantly scaling back BERR's ineffective operations to deliver £1 billion of savings to taxpayers.

Quango Communication Spending, January 2008: The report shows that many of the biggest quangos have significantly increased their spending on publicity.

Regional Development Agencies: Having a ball at the 2008 Party Conferences, December 2008: The note reveals that the Regional Development Agencies spent over £285,000 at the party conferences.

Brussels or Whitehall: Locating the Source of the UK's Regulatory Burden, October 2008: The paper presents a comprehensive picture of the sources of the UK’s regulatory burden, showing that blame cannot be laid at one door. Both the EU and Whitehall are at fault: the EU, quite simply, passes too many laws, and Whitehall civil servants too often make EU laws even longer.

Unequal Shares: The Definitive Guide to the Barnett Formula, September 2008: Written by former Treasury economist Mike Denham, the report provides a comprehensive review of the Barnett Formula and its precursors, showing how it has led to a startling gap between public spending in England and in the three better-funded devolved territories. The paper argues that only genuine fiscal devolution can solve the problem.

Structure of Government 3: The Case for Abolishing Regional Development Agencies, August 2008: The third paper in the Structure of Government series finds that RDAs have not prevented the gap between England's best and worst performing regions widening in the past decade. The report recommends that the Agencies be abolished, with the savings used to fund a 4p cut in the small companies rate of corporation tax, from 22 per cent to 18 per cent.

Structure of Government 2: The Failure of Government Management, July 2008: The second paper in the Structure of Government Series reports the findings of a survey by the TaxPayers’ Alliance of the UK’s 100 top business leaders. It reveals that Government management practices fall far short of the minimum that FTSE 100 Chief Executives believe is necessary to effectively manage large organisations.

Structure of Government 1: The Unseen Government of the UK, May 2008: The first report in the Structure of Government series sets out how huge numbers of quangos are becoming the unseen government of the UK; with more power, staff and funding.

Better Government report, January 2007: The first report of the new “Better Government Campaign” shows that public services are failing because politicians lack the management experience and subject knowledge to run them effectively. Patrick Barbour’s report is described as “a rattling read” by Labour MP Frank Field.

Public sector remuneration, strikes and non-jobs

The Case Against Boosting MPs' Pay, August 2009: The report sets out how MPs are among the best paid representatives in Europe and aren't underpaid.

Departmental use of taxis and chauffeured cars, July 2009: The report sets out how 19 (of the 20) Government departments spent in excess of £8 million on taxis and hired private cars between them.

Departmental Use of Air Travel, February 2009: The report provides the best evidence yet on the extent that departments are flying around the world.

Annual Non-Job Report 2008, December 2008: The report reveals that public sector staff are paid more than their equivalents in the private sector, public sector employment is rising and there is continued creation of non-jobs. The report contains ten particularly egregious examples of non-jobs.

Public Sector Rich List 2008, November 2008: The latest edition of the Public Sector Rich List details the remuneration of 387 people in the public sector earning more than £150,000.

The Looming Winter of Discontent, May 2008: This report sets out how Britain faces a looming winter of discontent as public sector pay costs have increased massively in recent years, leaving little money left, and public sector staff are going on strike far more frequently than their private sector counterparts.

Public Sector Strikes, April 2008: The report shows that public sector workers have gone on strike 25 times as frequently as workers in the private sector over the last five years and 100 times as frequently over the last year.

£1 Million NHS Pensions, February 2008: The research note finds that there are 8,500 retired NHS employees with pension pots of at least £1 million.

Annual Non-Job Report 2007, December 2007: The latest in the non-job series presents the salary bill for jobs advertised in Society Guardian and picks out the most egregious examples of jobs that have little if any value for taxpayers.

Rewards for Failure: Hospital Acquired Infections, December 2007: Presents a list of the 25 NHS trusts with the worst C. difficile hospital infection rates and compares these infection rates with the pay of the trusts’ Chief Executives.

£1 Million Civil Service Pensions, December 2007: The research note finds that there are 3,700 retired civil servants with pension pots of at least £1 million.

Public Sector Rich List 2007, November 2007: The second edition of the annual Public Sector Rich List presents a list of the 300 most highly paid people in the public sector, all earning above £150,000 a year.

Council Mileage Allowances, October 2007: The survey of councils in the West Midlands reveals that all but two pay their staff more per mile than the HMRC approved rates.

Response to the Strike by the Public and Commercial Services Union, January 2007: The TPA points out that the strike, coming on the day of the self-assessment deadline, will unfairly hit tens of thousands of self-employed taxpayers and that public sector workers already get a better deal than their private sector counterparts.

The Political Payroll 2006, January 2007: Written by William Norton, a member of the James Review of Taxpayer Value, the research note compiles a line-by-line picture of the rewards paid out to members of the Government.

Annual Non-Job Report 2006, December 2006: Presents the salary bill for jobs advertised in Society Guardian and picks out the most egregious examples of jobs that have little if any value for taxpayers.

The Hundred Club: Whitehall Pensions, November 2006: Presents a list of 100 senior civil servants with pension pots of at least £500,000.

Public Sector Rich List, November 2006: The first ever rich list focused exclusively on the public sector. Lists 170 people earning over £150,000 a year in government departments, quangos and other public bodies.

Life is easier in the public sector, October 2006: The research note shows how public sector workers enjoy higher pay, fewer hours, more days off sick and more generous pensions than their private sector counterparts.

NHS

NHS Machines: Utilisation of high-value equipment at NHS Trusts, September 2009: The report shows that there is significant variation in the extent to which NHS Trusts make use of expensive capital equipment.

£1 Million NHS Pensions, February 2008: The research note finds that there are 8,500 retired NHS employees with pension pots of at least £1 million.

Wasting Lives: A statistical analysis of NHS performance in a European context since 1981, January 2008: The report sets out the ongoing failure of the NHS to match European levels of healthcare performance and the inability of new money, since 1999, to rectify the situation.

Law and order

The Cost of Big Brother Government, July 2008: This report analyses the effectiveness of the different measures the Government has used to combat the terrorist threat to Britain and finds that the cost of “Big Brother Government” has reached almost £20 billion.

The Cost of Crime, July 2008: With crime levels top of the list of voters’ concerns, this paper, for the first time, details the cost of recorded crime per person in each of the police force areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007, the latest year for which data is available.

HM Prison Service is failing: a new approach is urgently needed, February 2008: The first paper in the Failure of Politicians series is written by Lord Ramsbotham, the former Chief Inspector of Prisons. It provides a powerful critique of political management of the prison system and recommends reforms to give prison managers the freedom and incentives they need to improve prison rehabilitation programmes and cut re-offending.

Environmental policy and motorists

The expensive failure of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, October 2009: The report sets out how the scheme has cost consumers across Europe €93 billion but been ineffective in controlling emissions.

Relative transport spending, September 2009: The research note shows that ten times as much is spent on railways as the roads for every passenger kilometre they carry.

TaxPayers' Alliance Green Calculator, April 2009: The calculator allows ordinary taxpayers to, after answering just a few simple questions, find out the amount they are paying for green taxes and regulations.

The EU's renewables policy: official cost estimates to Britain, December 2008: The report, by leading economist Ruth Lea, sets out the range of estimates of the cost of the EU's renewables policies. It also shows that Britain is being asked to make a significantly larger adjustment than most other member states.

The Case Against an 80 per cent Mandatory Target for Emmissions Cuts, October 2008: The research note shows how a binding 80 per cent target for emissions cuts would lead to falling GDP unless completely radical improvements in emissions intensity can be achieved. The report argues that politicians have not thought through exactly how such a transformation can take place without doing enormous damage to Britain's economy and exporting emissions overseas.

The Burden of Green Taxes, August 2008: The second edition of the TPA's green taxes paper shows that environmental taxation is set above the level of the social cost of Britain's carbon footprint and presents estimates of the excess burden of green taxes in local authority areas across the country.

The Economic and Political Case Against Higher Fuel Duty, March 2008: The report shows that people living in marginal constituencies are more likely to drive to work and how motorists are already paying too much tax. It calls on the Government to abandon the 2p rise in Fuel Duty set for April.

Council Mileage Allowances, October 2007: The survey of councils in the West Midlands reveals that all but two pay their staff more per mile than the HMRC approved rates.

Response to the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group Report, September 2007: The TPA attacks the intellectual assumptions behind the report and argues that the Policy Group’s recommendations would lead to more tax, regulation and bureaucracy, would curb vital infrastructure development and would undermine free trade.

The Case Against Further Green Taxes, September 2007: The first comparison of official and academic estimates of the social cost of Britain’s carbon emissions with the revenue raised from green taxes shows that environmental taxation is already above its optimal level. The report also presents an audit of current green taxation, showing that each green tax has major flaws.

Green Tokenism: Government Cars, August 2007: The research note finds that if the Government had not bought hybrid cars, it could have planted 74,000 trees with the money saved, a far better environmental move.

The Global Warming Industry in Local Government, July 2007: The research note gives details of employees working to reduce carbon emissions in a random sample of 25 local authorities.

European Union

EU Diplomats, September 2009: The report sets out how the EU is already running an expensive foreign policy.

From Thespians to Death Rays: Funding surprises from the EU grants list, May 2009: The report details a number of surprising grants from the European Union.

Reforming EU Development Assistance, April 2009: The report sets out detailed proposals for reforming EU development assistance in order to ensure transparency and accountability and put an end to abuse of European taxpayers' money.

Food for thought: How the Common Agricultural Policy costs families nearly £400 a year, January 2009: The report argues for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, setting out a new estimate of the cost to taxpayers and consumers.

The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives, March 2009: This new book by Matthew Elliott and David Craig provides a guide to what really goes on in the European Union in our name. You can also download briefing notes on the estimate of the cost of the European Union and revelations in the book about MEPs pay and expenses.

The Price of Fish: Costing the Common Fisheries Policy, January 2009: The report sets out the first ever comprehensive costing of the Common Fisheries Policy and argues that it has been a disaster for fishermen, consumers and the environment.

Responses to budgets and reports by other organisations

Brown's borrowing will be double the debt needed to win World War One, November 2008: This short briefing sets out how, even accounting for RPI inflation, the borrowing needed to win the First World War was just half the amount that was set out for the years following the 2008 Pre-Budget Report.

TaxPayers' Alliance Response to the Conservative Tax Plan, November 2008: The response attacks the plans for being too timid, too complex and poorly targetted. It calls for a package of cuts in headline tax rates.

Budget 2008 Report, March 2008: The report shows how higher spending on public services has failed to deliver results and how controlling spending and reducing taxes could deliver significant economic benefits. It also sets out the savings from not rehiring the quarter of civil servants due to retire over the next decade.

Cost of Government Day, July 2007: The research note extends the concept of Tax Freedom Day and estimates the date in the calendar year when the average person has earned enough to pay of his share of government spending and regulation. In 2007, Cost of Government Day falls on 23 July.

Response to Tax Freedom Day, June 2007: The TPA response provides indicative estimates of tax freedom day in other OECD countries, putting Britain in its international context.

Budget 2007: Tax Cuts Abroad, March 2007: With Britain’s tax burden rising, the research note gives details of 13 advanced economies that have reduced taxes in the past year and 24 that have reduced taxes in the past two years.

Response to the Independent Tax Reform Commission Report, October 2006: The TPA welcomes the recommendations of the Tax Reform Commission report to reduce and simplify taxes, but argues that the report could have gone further in several areas.

Economic stability

How inept regulations and poor policy decisions drove the financial crisis, November 2008: The report provides a detailed account of the many ways in which inept regulations and poor policy choices drove the build-up of the crisis and exacerbated the crisis once it got underway.

TaxPayers' Alliance Response to the Government's £50 Billion Bailout, October 2008: The paper responds to the Government's bailout plan, outlining several ways in which the Government can and should limit the amount of taxpayers' money the banks need.

International aid

Palestinian Hate Education since Annapolis, March 2009: The report sets out how £100 million of British taxpayers' money supports hate education in the Palestinian territories. Similar reports were launched across Europe by partner organisations with figures for the amount spent by their own countries.

Funding Hate Education, January 2008: In the first of a series of papers analysing the effectiveness of expenditure on overseas aid, the report reveals disturbing evidence showing how British taxpayers’ money has been spent helping to fund hate education and promote violence in the Middle East.

2012 Olympics and other big government projects

Effect of the 2012 Olympics on Construction Inflation, August 2007: The research note calculates that the London Olympics will add £4 billion to construction inflation in London and the South East.

The Cost of the 2012 Olympics, July 2007: The research note, released for the launch of the TPA 2012 Watchdog, reveals how the Olympics budget has been allowed to spiral out of control and presents worrying indications that the final bill could be even higher.

Beyond the Dome: Government projects £23 billion over budget, July 2007: A systematic investigation into cost overruns in over 300 public sector capital projects over the last two years reveals a £23 billion total.

Dynamic effects of taxation, the flat tax and other economics

Can tax increases solve the United Kingdom’s public finance crisis?, July 2009: The report, by the CEBR for the TPA, sets out how national debt could reach £2.3 trillion and unemployment 3.8 million and that tax increases are not a viable solution to the fiscal crisis.

Tax and entrepreneurship: How the tax system impedes the creation of new firms and decreases employment, July 2009: The report sets out how the tax system deters potential entrepreneurs and that there is now a top marginal tax rate on income earned, saved, invested in a company and then passed on to children of 92%.

Gordon Brown’s Economic Failure, September 2008: The report demolishes what is left of Gordon Brown’s reputation for effective economic and public sector management, showing that in terms of economic growth, workforce productivity, tax levels and complexity, inflation, pensions, energy policy, public service quality, value for money, real disposable income, national debt, welfare dependency and other key measures, Britain’s performance has been poor across the board as a result of Gordon Brown’s policies. The report suggests that Gordon Brown has left Britain more vulnerable to the downturn than our international competitors.

How Cutting Corporation Tax Would Boost Revenue, September 2008: The report, written for Conservative Way Forward, reveals compelling evidence based on the experiences of Britain’s leading international competitors that a cut in the rate of corporation tax would boost the economy and speed up the rate of growth in revenues raised by the Treasury.

Dynamic Model of the UK Economy, April 2007: The TPA commissioned the Centre for Economics and Business Research to build a dynamic model of the UK economy. The first simulations show that reducing the main corporation tax rate to the Irish rate would deliver immense economic benefits.

Moving Britain Backwards, December 2006: Written by former World Bank economist Keith Marsden, the paper tears apart Gordon Brown’s economic record and shows how Britain’s economy has become less competitive and less able to meet the coming challenges.

Flat Tax: Towards a British Model, February 2006: Written by economist and journalist Allister Heath, the book makes the case for a flat tax and sets out how it could be practically achieved in the UK.

By Date

October 2009

Relative transport spending, October 2009: The research note shows that ten times as much is spent on railways as the roads for every passenger kilometre they carry.

Relative transport spending, September 2009: The research note shows that ten times as much is spent on railways as the roads for every passenger kilometre they carry.

September 2009

EU Diplomats, September 2009: The report sets out how the EU is already running an expensive foreign policy.

August 2009

The Case Against Boosting MPs' Pay, August 2009: The report sets out how MPs are among the best paid representatives in Europe and aren't underpaid.

July 2009

June 2009

From Thespians to Death Rays: Funding surprises from the EU grants list, May 2009: The report details a number of surprising grants from the European Union.

May 2009

From Thespians to Death Rays: Funding surprises from the EU grants list, May 2009: The report details a number of surprising grants from the European Union.

April 2009

March 2009

February 2009

Departmental Use of Air Travel, February 2009: The report provides the best evidence yet on the extent that departments are flying around the world.

January 2009

Quango Communication Spending, January 2008: The report shows that many of the biggest quangos have significantly increased their spending on publicity.

December 2008

Regional Development Agencies: Having a ball at the 2008 Party Conferences, December 2008: The note reveals that the Regional Development Agencies spent over £285,000 at the party conferences.

November 2008

Public Sector Rich List 2008, November 2008: The latest edition of the Public Sector Rich List details the remuneration of 387 people in the public sector earning more than £150,000.

October 2008

September 2008

August 2008

July 2008

May 2008

April 2008

The Cost of Crime in London, April 2008: The report presents the first estimates of the cost of crime in each of the 32 London boroughs. The total cost of crime for London was £3 billion or £400 per person last year.

March 2008

February 2008

£1 Million NHS Pensions, February 2008: The research note finds that there are 8,500 retired NHS employees with pension pots of at least £1 million.

January 2008

December 2007

£1 Million Civil Service Pensions, December 2007: The research note finds that there are 3,700 retired civil servants with pension pots of at least £1 million.

November 2007

October 2007

Council Mileage Allowances, October 2007: The survey of councils in the West Midlands reveals that all but two pay their staff more per mile than the HMRC approved rates.

Total Lifetime Tax, October 2007: The 2007 Total Lifetime Tax update shows that the average household pays over £630,000, in today’s prices, in direct and indirect taxes.

The Bumper Book of Government Waste: Brown’s Squandered Billions, October 2007: The third in the Bumper Book series finds £101 billion of government waste in 2007.

September 2007

August 2007

The Non-Courses Report 2007, August 2007: A list of university “non-courses”, together with the cost to the taxpayer.

July 2007

The Global Warming Industry in Local Government, July 2007: The research note gives details of employees working to reduce carbon emissions in a random sample of 25 local authorities.

June 2007

Response to Tax Freedom Day, June 2007: The TPA response provides indicative estimates of tax freedom day in other OECD countries, putting Britain in its international context.

May 2007

Tax Burden Highest for the Poorest Households, May 2007: The analysis of OECD data over the last 20 years shows that the poorest fifth of households pay the greatest proportion of their gross income in direct and indirect taxes, and that the gap has widened under Gordon Brown.

April 2007

March 2007

February 2007

January 2007

An Analysis of the More Government/Less Government Balance on the Today Programme, January 2007: The survey of a week of Today Programme broadcasts finds that bigger government messages dominate smaller government messages and that, therefore, the programme is biased towards higher taxes and higher government spending.

December 2006

November 2006

The Hundred Club: Whitehall Pensions, November 2006: Presents a list of 100 senior civil servants with pension pots of at least £500,000.

October 2006

Total Lifetime Tax, October 2006: The first reported calculation of the total amount of tax paid by households in different quintile groups over a lifetime.

February 2006

The TaxPayers' Alliance - Home

Latest Release

Blogs

Fleeced!

Avanta

The Gordon Brown Calculator

The Plan

Low Tax Coalition

The Great European Rip-Off

Research by the TaxPayers' Alliance

Support Us

Publications

About Us

Tax Ad

More TPA on the web...

The Bumper Book of Government Waste

Archives