Britannia Radio

After all of the frenetic activity surrounding the Budget, it has been a relatively quiet week for the TaxPayers’ Alliance. We are using the lull to work on some longer term projects looking into just how much of your money is being wasted and updating some of our systems ahead of major new campaigns this spring. I hope you enjoy the Easter break and, if you have any thoughts on the issues that we should be working on in the rest of 2013, now is a good time to get in touch. - Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive Why doesn’t HMRC answer the phone? After a whistle-blower contacted us, we exposed in Parliament how HMRC are putting callers on hold unnecessarily in order to look like they are doing better on “wrap-up time” targets. Andrew Turner MP urged “the Minister to look carefully into that allegation.” George Osborne joins celebration of £200m beer tax cut Jonathan Isaby thanked him for action on beer and fuel tax at the BBPA celebration, but told him we would keep up the pressure for strategic reforms to create a much simpler, fairer and more competitive tax system. TPA keeps up the fight for welfare reform We are keeping up the fight for necessary welfare reforms to improve the incentive to work, ensure money only goes to the right people and control the cost to taxpayers. There is a lot of scaremongering and we need to take it on one case at a time. Nottingham Parking Levy: one year on We beat proposals for a workplace parking levy in Bristol.Andrew Allison wrote about the series of problems that the first workplace parking levy has created in Nottingham. Yet another tax on local businesses is a terrible idea and we will keep working to kill off the idea.