Politics
UK
Q&A
SESSION - TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE
Politics
UK
We would like to welcome Matthew Elliott from the Taxpayers Alliance. Good
evening Matthew. The Q&A is now in session
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Hi there - it's Matthew Elliott here - founder of the TaxPayers' Alliance
(also Campaign Director of NOtoAV)
Politics
UK
The TaxPayers' Alliance is a British pressure group
and taxpayers union formed in 2004 to campaign for a low tax society.
 |
| Matthew Elliot spoke to PoliticsUK |
What was your motivation in 2004 to start the TPA
and did you expect that the TPA would be as big as a success as it has been?
The
TaxPayers'Alliance
My motivation for starting the TaxPayers’ Alliance was the fact that I felt that there wasn't a voice for taxpayers in the UK...
My motivation for starting the TaxPayers’ Alliance was the fact that I felt that there wasn't a voice for taxpayers in the UK...
There were plenty of groups arguing for higher
government spending – and there was a consensus in Westminster amongst the
three main parties that government spending should go up – but there wasn’t a
campaign saying...
“Hang on; can
we really afford higher government spending? What about the growing national
debt and the increasing deficits? Should we really be spending, in boom times,
more money as a country than we earn?”
Politics
UK
The mission of the TPA is "to reverse the
perception that big government is necessary and irreversible; to explain the
benefits of a low tax economy; to give taxpayers a voice in the corridors of
power; to oppose EU tax harmonisation."
Can you explain how “big Government” affects the
average UK taxpayer?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
“Big government” means big government spending and a
big tax burden! (And lots of regulations)
It is big government that has got us into the fiscal
mess which we now find ourselves in.
High taxes hit hard-working taxpayers in their
pockets, and big deficits rack up bills which future generations of taxpayers
will have to pay off.
Politics
UK
Why does the TPA oppose EU tax harmonisation?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
We oppose EU tax harmonisation for a number of
reasons....
The main one is that we believe that tax rates in
the UK should be under the sole democratic control of UK voters. Whether you’re
from the right or the left, this is an important principle to defend.
Politics
UK
Can you explain the benefits of a “low tax economy”?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Low tax economies have higher growth rates, which
means more jobs, a bigger tax take, and everybody better off.
Today’s unemployment figures show why we need tax
reform, to get the economy going again.
We'll be publishing our Tax Commission report in
April, which will explain how this can be done.
Politics
UK
The TPA has been compared to the Tea Party in
America, What are the similarities and difference between the TPA and the Tea
Party?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Good question!
Since the financial crisis, there have been taxpayer
rebellions in many countries....
German taxpayers are sick of giving so much of their
money to the profligate Greek government...
British taxpayers were sickened by the way in which
MPs abused their expenses in the last Parliament...
And US taxpayers revolted against the bank bailouts,
which lead to the rise of the Tea Party movement. Unfortunately, social
conservatives seem to be gaining ground in the Tea Party movement, something
which I regret and disagree with.
Politics
UK
Tim Horton from the Fabian Society has said that the
TPA is “fundamental to the Conservative political strategy”. Is the TPA
affiliated with any political party either officially or unofficially?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
They would say that wouldn't they!!
The TaxPayers’ Alliance isn’t affiliated with any
political party....
We have praised and criticised each of the parties
for their policies. The TPA Pin-up of the Month has been awarded to both
Conservative and Labour politicians – as has our Pin-head of the month. The TPA
wants all parties to recognise that government spending is unsustainably high –
and we’re pleased to now have Ed Miliband as a new recruit to our way of
thinking :-)
Politics
UK
From 1-10, How would you rate the present
Government?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Giving one single score to cover all policy areas
might be a bit disingenuous, but...
Before the general election, we produced a TPA
manifesto, which outlined the policies we hoped the new Government would
implement. Last May – on the anniversary of the creation of the Coalition
Government – we analysed how well they were doing. You can see the manifesto
(and our ratings) here: http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/m1yo.pdf
If we had to give an overall score though, I'd make
it 6 out of 10
Politics
UK
 |
| John Prescott complained to the Charity Commission. |
Can you comment on that allegation?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
A very Paxman-esque question!
To give PoliticsUK readers the context for this
question, The Guardian published a front page article on 29 December 2009
asserting that the Politics and Economics Research Trust (PERT) was being used
as a vehicle to channel funds enhanced by gift aid to the TPA
This was followed up by a complaint to the Charity
Commission by John Prescott. The Charity Commission carried out a very thorough
investigation, including requesting The Guardian to provide further
information. The journalist who wrote the article confirmed that they had no
further information to provide.
The Commission published its report on 21 February
2011, and concluded: "The Commission had not seen any evidence to support
the allegation made that the Charity had been used as a vehicle to channel
funds enhanced with gift aid from the Midlands Industrial Council, to the
Alliance. Further the Investigation did not identify any evidence to support
this allegation more generally." Case closed!
A front page of that Guardian article may or may not
be framed on my office wall though!
Politics
UK
The TPA is a leading proponent of "Google
government". Can you explain to our users what a “Google government” is
and how it would benefit taxpayers?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
We are big believers in transparency – this is why
we file so many Freedom of Information requests to find out how taxpayers’
money is being spent...
This information should be freely available to
taxpayers, which is why we’re pleased that the Government has brought in
measures to promote spending transparency. Less work for us to do - no need to
research/publish any more Public Sector Rich Lists!
The next battle is tax transparency, which is why
we’re so pleased that Ben Gummer MP is introducing a Private Members Bill next
week to improve tax transparency.
Politics
UK
What is the TPA’s view on the 50p Tax rate?
 |
| The 50p Tax rate is "the supreme act of cutting our nose of to spite our face". |
We’re for the abolition of the 50p tax rate.
Bringing it in was a supreme act of cutting off our nose to spite our face.
After an initial increase, the income tax take will ultimately fall as a result
of the 50p rate...
And other low-earning taxpayers will have to make up
this shortfall. Also many jobs won’t be created that would have been, as
entrepreneurs put less effort in. And it won’t help growth - the Holy Grail of
politics at the moment.
Politics
UK
The TPA manifesto states that you wish to abolish a
range of Quangos and reform others. Which Quangos should be scrapped or
reformed in your opinion and why?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
We produced a paper on this a couple of years ago:
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/OrganisationCuts.pdf
The organisations we advocated abolishing were...
*deep breath*
Local Development Corporations; Regional Development
Agencies; Standards for England, the Office for Fair Access and Aim Higher;
National College for School Leadership Saving, British Educational
Communications and Technology Agency; School Food Trust; Football Licensing
Authority; Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; British
Waterways; Sustainable Development Commission; Office of the Children’s Commissioner;
National Policing Improvement Agency; and the Government Equalities Office...
(The reasons
why are given in the paper)
Politics
UK
The TPA advocates that the Post office should be privatised.
How would privatisation increase value for money for consumers?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
I think someone blogged about this in the past, but
it's not a major issue for us. But, for what it's worth, the German post office
is far better than ours...
And the German post office is private. Also, Royal
Mail's top guy heads up our Public Sector Rich List!
Politics
UK
Why should the UK abandon the 2020 renewable targets
and the EU emission trading scheme?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
The EU renewable energy targets require huge
investment in our energy sector which will significantly increase energy prices
for families and businesses in the UK. The ETS also increases bills and has
proved dismally ineffective. It is going to become an even worse deal for us
when the new floor price comes in.
Given Britain emits less than 2% of global
emissions, and the major emitters aren’t following our example, these policies
would have little effect anyway. We would do better to focus much smaller
amounts of money on directly putting scientists and engineers to work finding
more affordable alternatives to fossil fuels.
Worth reading Matt Sinclair's (TPA Director) book,
Let them Eat Carbon, on this subject
Politics
UK
 |
| Matthew Elliot would vote to leave the EU. |
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
On a straight In/Out referendum I’d vote to leave
the EU
Yes, they should hold a referendum on our
relationship with the EU
Politics
UK
What reforms does the NHS need for an aging
population?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
To be honest with you, we haven’t focused much of
our research time on NHS reform, but we did produce a paper last year called
‘Wasting Lives’. This paper found that in 2008 (the latest year for which data
is available) 11,749 more deaths occurred in the UK than would have if the UK
had matched the average mortality amenable to healthcare rates of European
peers. Here's the paper:
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/wastinglives2011.pdf
The paper also found that the amount of money invested
had little effect on the performance of the NHS. This suggests reform is
necessary, and an aging population only makes this more urgent...
Here's a video about the report, as the concept's a
little technical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF03yKDEn1U
Politics
UK
What are the future plans for the TPA?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
As mentioned, we’re publishing the report of our Tax
Commission in April, which will show how we would like to see the tax system
reformed. This is a joint project with the Institute of Directors, and a dozen
or so experts have worked hard over the past 18 months to write it. Watch this
space for more details nearer the time.
Also, from a personal perspective, I hear there may
be some more referendums around the corner!
Politics
UK
This concludes the active Q&A session. We would
like to thank the Taxpayers Alliance for attending this interview.
This thread is now open to PUK members to post their
questions.
Politics
UK
Robin
French: Do you think that No2AV would have gotten away
with the claims they made in the run up to the AV referendum if it had been
covered by the rules that apply to parliamentary election campaigns?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Robin:
The referendum was covered by the same rules as general elections, and we were
given a clean bill of health by the Electoral Commission, Advertising Standards
Authority etc, so yes...
Tam
Raymond
Hi, where did your “sister” organisation, “Taxpayer Scotland”
get the numbers indicating their view that “Scotland's debt could be as high as
£189bn, even before taking into account its share of the national debt.”?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Tam:
I'm not familiar with the details of that report, but you can read it here:
http://www.taxpayerscotland.com/news/StateofScotland_Debt_Jan2012.pdf
Politics
UK
Richard
Frazer: How difficult will 2012 be?
Will it be worse than 2013?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Richard:
more difficult than 2011, I think. That's the feedback I'm getting from
supporters, especially small businesses
I think it's their financial obligations - current
debt, liabilities, etc
Politics
UK
Sophie
Louise: Is this a government of taxation. Is it different
to the last government?
The
TaxPayers' Alliance
Sophie:
Unfortunately taxes have gone up, so it is a 'government of taxation'
Politics UK This session is now closed. Thank you
for your questions.
***************************************************
PoliticsUK would also like to thank William MacDonald and Hex Austen.
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