Rich List sets the agenda
If you haven’t yet checked the list to find your council, then make sure you try out our enormously popular new web tool, which allows you to instantly look up information about your local authorities using just your postcode. We are the first campaigning organisation to do anything like this and we’re very excited about its potential for other forthcoming research. 
This is already one of the most popular parts of our website and we’d like you to help us spread the word! Please share this tool with your family, friends and colleagues by sending them on this link: http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/town-hall-rich-list-2012. We're constantly trying reach a wider audience, and we hope that you find this new feature on our website useful. If you have any feedback on this, or other ideas, please do get in touch.Whitehall tax avoidance
The scandal was exposed after it was revealed that Ed Lester, the head of the Student Loans Company (SLC), was paid via a company without tax being deducted at source, saving him tens of thousands of pounds. Tax avoidance like this is unacceptable, especially in the public sector, which should be leading by example. The very fact that this is happening at the highest level of the civil service will further erode taxpayers’ faith in both Whitehall and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
This latest scandal is yet more evidence that we need wholesale and radical tax reform to close loopholes like this and restore trust in the system. Our recommendations for a simpler and fairer tax system will soon be published as part of the 2020 Tax Commission’s final report.
Our Campaign Director, Emma Boon, was on BBC Newsnight on Wednesday night to discuss this issue. You can watch the full programme byclicking here.TPA inspires Aussies into action
The ATA cites our “significant success” as having inspired its founders and one of their first campaigns is to demand greater transparency from the Australian Government about how it spends taxpayers’ money. Our successful campaign here in Britain for online publication of government spending has been a key TPA policy victory and we wish the ATA all the best as they take up the fight for value for taxpayers' money.
Back here in the UK you can help us continue our important and inspiring work by donating whatever you can afford – every penny helps! There are several ways you can give:
We are entirely dependent on private donations so you are directly contributing towards the strength of our campaign. Thank you for your continued support. Grassroots
Nottingham Action Day
In March we held a very successful action day calling on Nottingham City Council to publish online all spending above £500. It is the only council in England not to do so. Since then, a former Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Cllr Jeannie Packer, has resigned from the ruling Labour group. This is what she had to say:
"I believe the council is poorer for the way it is governed. More needs to be done to make the council more democratic and accountable. The Council lacks transparency and proper scrutiny."
We are out on the streets of Nottingham again on 12 May collecting more signatures for our petition. If you can join us, please let National Grassroots Coordinator, Andrew Allison, know. You can also register your attendance on this Facebook page.
What: Nottingham Action Day
Where: Old Market Square, Nottingham
When: Saturday 12 May, 12:00 noon
Cardiff Action Day
It is six months since the Welsh Assembly Government introduced a 5p tax on each plastic bag given out in shops. On Saturday 19 May, TPA activists will be out on the streets of Cardiff asking local people to sign a petition against the tax.
Reducing the number of plastic bags we use is a good thing, but this tax adds a greater burden on shoppers and small businesses at a time when they can least afford it. If you can make it to Cardiff on 19 May, please let Andrew Allison know. You can also register your interest on this Facebook page.
What: Cardiff Action Day
Where: Venue TBC
When: Saturday 19 May, 11:30 am Best of the blogs
Robert Oxley asks which group of bureaucrats would have the gall to ask for a huge budget increase in an age of austerity (clue: they’re from Brussels) while Sandra Fischetti calls for an end to the public sector merry-go-round.
Tim Newark has further details about the proposed protest against the Bag Tax in Cardiff while Andrew Allison reports on a successful action day in Grantham.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Our sixth annual Town Hall Rich List set the news agenda for the start of this week, with the media still talking about the some of the very large pay and benefit packages at local authorities. Our research was also mentioned by Local Government Minister Bob Neill in a Parliamentary written answer.
It has emerged that more than 2,000 senior public sector workers are using controversial "off payroll" contracts which allow them to slash personal tax bills. It means that they are potentially not paying the correct Income Tax and National Insurance.
It always makes us proud when we win praise from around the world for what we do, so it is especially pleasing to report that a group of activists Down Under is now seeking to emulate our work under the banner of the Australian Taxpayers Alliance (ATA), which launched in Sydney this week.
In the latest Non-job of the week, Andrew Allison highlights that the NHS in the South of England requires a part-time Leadership Consultant and wonders if we will ever know how much is spent on needless bureaucracy.
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