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TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 03 February 2012 - TaxPayers' Alliance on BBC Question Time - A message from our Development Director: Now accepting credit cards! - Average family pays £656,000 in tax over their lifetime - Grassroots - Best of the Blogs TaxPayers' Alliance on Question Time Last night our Campaign Director Emma Boon gave a strong performance on BBC One's Question Time. It’s the first time one of our team has been on the BBC’s flagship political discussion show and we’re immensely proud of her. Discussions centred on honours for bankers, international aid and NHS reform, with Emma receiving the loudest applause of the evening. Throughout the programme Emma and the TaxPayers’ Alliance were top trending topics on Twitter worldwide. During the course of the evening it became clear International Development Minister Alan Duncan MP wasn’t particularly happy about our forthright criticism of the increases in the aid budget. The audience clearly backed Emma’s opposition to giving development money to nations which can afford their own space programme. If you missed the show you can still watch it on iPlayer. A message from our Development Director: Now accepting credit cards! Thank you to all of those who have contributed to our 2012 Fighting Fund Appeal. To make it easier to donate to the TPA, we can now accept donations via credit and debit card over the phone.* Not only will it make it easier to make one-off donations, but you might also consider making a regular monthly, quarterly or annual donation. We couldn’t do any of our important work without your help. All of our policy victories are down to the generosity of our 65,000 supporters and we hope you can support us in 2012, too. Simply call me on 020 7340 6021 during normal office hours, I can take your card details and you can make an instant donation over the phone. All the best, Sara Rainwater Development Director *We can accept MasterCard, Visa, Maestro, Visa Electron, but not American Express. Average family pays £656,000 in tax over their lifetime At the start of the week we revealed the incredible lifetime tax bill faced by British households. The average family pays £656,000 in direct and indirect taxes over their working lifetimes and in retirement. Our research broke down the tax bill for families of different incomes, revealing that the poorest fifth pay £235,000 over their lifetime while the richest fifth pay £1.3 million. Click here to read the research, including a full tax breakdown. Households in the UK now pay an incredible amount in tax over a lifetime, a hefty slice of their income. VAT not only hits the poorest households hardest, but is also the second most burdensome tax on the average family. The Chancellor's decision to increase the rate to 20 per cent has led to price increases at a time when taxpayers can least afford it. A simpler, fairer tax system would decrease our lifetime tax bill and leave families with greater discretion over how they spend their money. Grassroots A number of local authorities have announced council tax increases in the coming year. These Town Hall Tyrants are rejecting a Government grant in favour of squeezing more cash out of hard-pressed taxpayers. In Yorkshire in particular, councils are explicitly choosing tax rises instead of savings as they plan the year’s budget. One of the councils which has already announced that it is planning to go ahead with a council tax rise is Richmondshire. We will be holding an action day in Richmond at the end of February to collect signatures against the rise. We hope you can join us, you can contact National Grassroots Coordinator Andrew Allison for more details. Watch our Campaign Manager Robert Oxley criticising councils for wanting to hike council tax here. Best of the Blogs Economics 101: Stephen Hester was right to turn down his bonus -TPA Director Matthew Sinclair's reaction to the RBS bonus saga. Better Government: Windsor & Maidenhead cut council tax for third year in a row - While a number of local authorities propose raising council tax, the chiefs at Windsor & Maidenhead have announced they are cutting it for the third year in a row. Grassroots: Cornish councillors named and shamed - The saga of councillors not paying their council tax rolls on in Cornwall, as those taken to court are finally named. 2020 Tax Commission: Lower and simpler taxes are part of combating tax evasion - TPA Director Matthew Sinclair on BBC Radio 4's World Tonight discussing tax evasion. Better Government: Wandsworth leading on transparency - Chris Daniel writes about the latest initiative by Wandsworth Council - which has the lowest council tax in the country - to publish its performance in comparison to other councils.