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Budget benefits bonanza

But a couple of things before we get into the horrorshow of the last week

Firstly, a mea culpa from me. Unlike some of our politicians (like, for example the Chancellor of the Exchequer), I can admit when something goes wrong. This morning a reboot of our systems meant this email didn't go out as planned. Our apologies.

Secondly, following John’s email on Wednesday, on behalf of the whole TPA team, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has chipped in to our fighting fund ([link removed]) . We’ve been completely overwhelmed by the response so far and every single penny will go to fighting this wretched budget from this rotten chancellor. If you haven’t had a chance to donate, please do so here ([link removed]) - any amount you can give helps us stand up for taxpayers.

We now know Rachel Reeves knew the fiscal situation was better than was being briefed. So the question is, did she lie? William Yarwood certainly thinks so ([link removed]) , check out his take here ([link removed]) .

Wrong choices

It’s fair to say that the chancellor didn’t exactly have the best start to the day. After weeks of leaks ([link removed]) for the treasury and just half an hour before she stood up in the chamber, the OBR released their analysis of her budget measures, essentially leaking what she was planning to announce ([link removed]) . For our research team it was a blessing - a chance to ignore the political guff and drill into the numbers, working out exactly what it meant for taxpayers.

Suffice it to say, it wasn’t good news.

The British public were treated to a litany of tinkering tax changes that targeted families, business owners, pensioners, savers, workers, pubs, restaurants, hotels, holidaymakers, motorists, cabbies, and even the humble milkshake.
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With thresholds frozen, 10.6 million people now face higher income tax bills. The fuel duty freeze will come to an end in September driving up the cost of filling your car. If you’ve got an electric vehicle, you can now look forward to a 3p per mile charge. Savers have been hit with changes to pensions and ISAs. B&B stays can now be slapped with a tourist tax. New taxes on property are coming in. Across the board, Reeves stuck her hand deep into taxpayers’ pockets taking an extra £26 billion. According to the TPA wonks, there’s been a tax rise every ten days ([link removed]) that Labour has been in office.

And for what?

Well, the answer’s simple. More welfare spending.

Because while you’re working away, keeping less of what you earned, the benefits bill is exploding. By 2030-31, spending on welfare is due to hit an eye watering £406.2 billion, an extra £73 billion than we’ll spend this year! Meanwhile borrowing and debt continue to spiral and we’ll have the highest tax burden in history come April.

A nightmare for taxpayers

Recorded minutes after the budget was delivered, the latest episode of a nation of taxpayers saw Duncan Barkes sit down with Reem Ibrahim of the Institute of Economic Affairs and our very own Darwin Friend.

It’s fair to say that Darwin and Reem were less than impressed with the chancellor’s choices. As Reem argues: “Looking at the bigger picture here, and how absolutely enormous these tax rises are… national account taxes are due to hit an all time high.”
Listen to this week’s a nation of taxpayers budget special on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , and YouTube ([link removed]) .

Fighting back

Perhaps the chancellor thought she would get away with it by branding everything she did in terms of “fairness” but our spokesmen saw straight through it. Giving his initial reaction ([link removed]) to journalists, John O’Connell said: “Rachel Reeves needs to urgently change course, by drastically reducing the benefits bill, bringing in targeted, growth generating tax cuts and deregulating the economy. We are now dangerously close to the cliff edge.”
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In the first of many media appearances for our team, John followed up on Talk, and was even blunter ([link removed]) : “It’s an absolute disaster for taxpayers… There is a very deliberate pitch from the Labour party to be the party of welfare. The clue’s in the name, the Labour Party, but it’s not really about work anymore.”
Having digested the numbers, our policy analyst, Shimeon Lee, was spot on ([link removed]) giving his reaction on social media: “Let’s call this budget what it is - another cash transfer from the productive to the unproductive.” Elsewhere, Darwin could be found on LBC News hammering the message home ([link removed]) to listeners “It’s going to be paid for by hard-working taxpayers through tax rises, tax rises, and yet more tax rises on their income, pensions, property, savings and more.”
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Rounding things off, Elliot Keck took no prisoners ([link removed]) in an op-ed for the Critic telling readers: “we now have a massive tax raising budget, for pretty much no purpose other than to further redistribute significant amounts of money from net contributors to net recipients. Families with multiple children in receipt of benefits could end up receiving an additional £5,000 a year. For a graduate with three children earning £60,000, you would need a £15,000 pay rise to get an additional £5,000 in take home pay due to the extraordinary marginal tax rates that kick in.”

Labour ministers can talk about fairness all they like but the reality is that this budget can be summed up as a series of welfare giveaways while families and businesses - taxpayers - shoulder the costs.

The cheat sheet

While there’s a lot to digest in a budget, we’re always on hand to give you the essentials and for this week’s blog, Anne Strickland gives you the good, the bad, and the ugly ([link removed]) .
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Anne’s assessment is simply brutal: “more taxes, more spending, and precisely zero growth. The OBR could not be clearer: budget policies have ‘no significant impact on output by 2030.’ This is the third-largest tax increase since the OBR was established in 2010, adding another £26 billion in tax rises. The tax burden will hit an all-time high of 38 per cent of GDP by 2030-31. Debt ends the decade at 96 per cent of GDP, and debt interest rises from £114 billion to £140 billion, consuming money that could have funded genuine tax relief.” Have a read of her blog in full here ([link removed]) .
War on Waste

There’s no doubt that this budget is a disaster for taxpayers and aspirational Brits across the country. Which is exactly why we’re going to fight it every step of the way. As John reminded us on Wednesday, statements at the despatch box are not the end of the story. While the ‘Smorgasboard’ approach targets lots of people, it also creates lots of opportunity to drum up opposition ala 2012 and the pasty tax. We’re gearing up to take this rotten, tax-raising, benefit-bumping, aspiration-hating, growth-killing government head on. No tax rise will be left unchallenged!
Why not help spread the word by forwarding this email to your family and friends and asking them to sign up here? ([link removed])

Benjamin Elks
Grassroots Development Manager

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