The Other Taxpayer’s Alliance

Posted on

This is from The Other Taxpayer's Alliance:

The TaxPayers' Alliance is a tremendously successful campaign group. Barely a day goes by without Chief Executive Matthew Elliott appearing in the media, representing the views of "ordinary taxpayers". In fact never a day goes by: the Alliance boasts an average hit rate of 13 media appearances a day and puts the links on its website to prove it.

The problem is that it isn't an alliance of ordinary taxpayers at all. It is an alliance of right-wing ideologues. Its academic advisory council is a who's who of the proponents of discredited Thatcherite policies: Eamonn Butler and Marsden Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute, academics Patrick Minford and Kenneth Minogue, Margaret Thatcher's former economic advisor Sir Alan Walters, and others such as ex-Institute of Directors policy head Ruth Lea.

Like all the best propaganda, there is some truth in the Alliance's message. Who could disagree with its commitment to "criticise all examples of wasteful and unnecessary spending", or to putting 2012 London Olympic spending under scrutiny? But the Alliance's concern for better public spending is a stepping stone to its desire for less public spending. And far from being a voice for "ordinary" taxpayers, its policies - opposing all tax rises (what, for everyone, in any circumstance?) and backing a flat rather than progressive tax - will increase inequality and shift wealth from poor to rich.

As the web site for this campaign againts the Taxpayer's Alliance and its web of misinformation says:

Now you have a choice … of TaxPayers' Alliance. Register your contempt for high-tax hell-holes like Denmark and Sweden by joining the other (original) Alliance. Or show your support for fairer taxes and better public services by filling in the form below. We don't really have anything to offer you - not even a badge - but will send you email updates.

As a protest against the TPA, I think that's worth doing.

Go on - sign up and let's show the world that the TPA does not represent most people's opinion.


Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:

You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.

And if you would like to support this blog you can, here: