|
...and not just because of their very presentable spokeswoman, Emma Boon. For the non political, it tells the story from the side of the table who pay for it all: US! Here is the text of their most recent newsmail:
Abolish National Insurance
We are calling on the Government to scrap National Insurance. Our groundbreaking report forms our response to George Osborne’s call for feedback on the operation and management of Income Tax and National Insurance contributions. We are urging the Chancellor to use his Autumn Statement to introduce this change which would greatly increase transparency and simplify an overly complicated system. This would in turn reduce costs and could form part of a package of measures to kick-start growth in the economy.
National Insurance is a second Income Tax in all but name. The report contains a detailed analysis of how our proposals would work with benefits and pensions.
The call for tax transparency comes only days after damaging revelations of the failures by the taxman to get our payslips right. It is just over a year since HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) made similar mistakes that caused tax chaos for millions. While there will be many taxpayers who receive a welcome rebate from HMRC, over a million people will be told they have to pay more tax at time when many are struggling with rising costs and an increasing tax burden. You can watch our Research Director, John O’Connell on Sky News discussing the misery caused by these mistakes.
The case for reform of National Insurance is clear. The need for a simpler, fairer tax system has never been stronger.
Debate to be held on an EU Referendum
On Monday, the House of Commons will debate David Nuttall MP’s motion calling for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, and the debate will be attended by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. The prospect of a referendum has set Westminster alight as our politicians finally decide that they do need "to talk about Europe".
In advance of the debate we hope you will consider attending The People's Pledge event in Westminster on Saturday. The Congress for an EU referendum is being held at Methodist Central Hall, starting at 10:45am and continuing all day. Tickets are £5 and you can get the last few available online here. Speakers attending are from across the political divide, including both those supporting and opposing Britain’s membership of the EU. Our Political Director Jonathan Isaby, our Research Director John O’Connell and Campaign Manager Robert Oxley will all be there, feel free to introduce yourself if you see us.
It's important to ensure that your voice is heard; email your MP over the weekend to let them know how you feel about the vote on Monday. You can find their details here.
Let Them Eat Carbon mentioned twice in the House of Commons
TPA Director Matthew Sinclair’s recent book, Let Them Eat Carbon, raised serious questions about the cost to ordinary people of climate change policies. This week it has twice been mentioned by concerned MPs in the House of Commons. On Wednesday, Steve Baker MP (pictured right) said, “It seems to me that if we are truly concerned about what the poor and the strivers are paying for energy, we should look extremely carefully at such distortions to market prices.”
You can watch his contribution here.
And then on Thursday, during Energy and Climate Change questions, David Nuttall MP asked Energy minister Charles Hendry, "I do not know whether the Minister has had a chance to read a recent book entitled Let Them Eat Carbon, by Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers' Alliance, but if he has, he will have noted Citigroup’s estimate that this country will have to spend more on meeting environmental targets than Germany, France, Spain and Italy put together. Does he accept that when those costs are passed on, they will result in even higher energy bills for consumers?"
This high profile discussion of the book follows a previous mention by Lord Reay in an adjournment debate in the House of Lords. To order your own copy of Let Them Eat Carbon via Amazon, click here.
Grassroots
Shropshire Action Day
Last Saturday, we had a great day in Wellington collecting signatures for our petition calling for the new Chief Executive of Telford and Wrekin Council to take a 10 per cent pay cut. The event was covered in the local newspaper and on local radio. Many thanks to Denis Allen and Adrian WIlliams for organising the event for us. If you would like to help us build up the new Shropshire branch, please contact Andrew Allison. We will be holding another action day soon, which we will announce in this bulletin. Any help, great or small, is always appreciated.
Victory for a local campaigner
Local campaigner Ruth Ash has achieved victory in her campaign to stop parking fees in her home town of Winslow, Buckinghamshire. When Aylesbury Vale District Council announced it planned to start charging in her local area, Ruth (who had never been involved in political campaigning before) jumped into action, launching a petition that attracted almost half the adult population of Winslow to sign. With our help and guts and determination she managed to get the council to reverse the decision.
You too can organise local campaigns and win. If there are issues affecting your area and you think we can help please contact National Grassroots Coordinator, Andrew Allison.
Supporter Prize
Please share this bulletin with your friends, family and colleagues so they can enter our free prize draw for new supporters. All they need to do is sign up on our website; October's winner will be sent a copy of Matthew Sinclair's new book Let Them Eat Carbon and £100 in Amazon vouchers!
Best of the Blogs
Burning our Money: Non-job of the week - We take a look at the UK’s Climate and Energy Security Envoy
Better Government: Council saves £10 million by auctioning contracts online - Leicestershire County Council has found a new way to save taxpayers' money
Burning our Money: Cambridgeshire county council vote themselves 25 per cent pay hike - A bumper payrise for councillors who should be finding ways to make savings
Let Them Eat Carbon: The Government’s rhetoric has changed on energy, but not its policy - As rising energy bills hurt taxpayers, the Government is still persuing polices that will lead to large increases in the cost of energy bills
Burning our Money: Town Hall bosses’ spending on credit cards revealed - Taxpayers' money spent on luxury hotels, flights abroad and fine dining; some council chiefs couldn't even account for cash withdraws!
European Union: Eurozone to resume digging its way out of debt hole - What happened when Slovakia's parliament said 'No' to supporting another Eurozone bailout
|
Register
Login
FAQ
Search
