The Taxpayers' Alliance: Why the common person can't trust them

It should be fairly obvious to anyone that has had more than a passing understanding of The TaxPayers' Alliance that they are a "friendly" (not so friendly) front for right wing libertarian ideals.

What does this mean? Essentially they believe that the country would get on a whole lot better if the state did as little as possible, as simply as possible, and on this subject they center around taxation... i.e. people shouldn't really have to pay much of it at all.

They parade around making popular announcements about Petrol Tax and how it should be a lot lower, and it is enough to make some believe that they are interested in the common person on the street, fighting for the little guy against the big government.

They are not. They are greedy bastards headed by former Tories (that thought the Conservatives simply weren't friendly enough to the rich) and Tory sympathisers. They are supported at high levels by the kinds of people that want to see the rich in the country pay less. Their interests are in helping the wealthy get wealthier.

We can see this now fulling in their latest endeavor, the "2020 Tax Commission", named no doubt to fool people in to thinking this is a legitimate, unbiased, and measured set of proposals that are intended to be fair. They are not.

What are they proposing in their long report?

1) A single rate of tax at 30% for all incomes (essentially combining National Insurance and Income tax...while abolishing higher tax rates for higher earners).
2) A tax free allowance of 10k (as per current Lib Dem proposals).
3) A tiny cut in fuel tax of 5p (over 5 years)
4) Remove inheritance tax
5) Remove capital gains tax
6) Remove stamp duty tax
7) Remove stamp taxes on shares
8) Remove air passenger taxes

Well, how does that look for the common person? a 5p cut in fuel might be nice enough, in that it will stabilise prices over time (we certainly wouldn't feel it back in our wallets)...and a slight decrease on taxes for those under the 40 bracket might be favourable (though could be achieved less regressively through high tax allowance limits).

But inheritance tax? Capital gains? Stamp duty? Stamp on shares? Air passenger taxes? These are all taxes that fundamentally affect the rich more than they do the poor. By removing them we are encouraging those with wealth to pay less in to the pot...while at the same time lessening the amount of money everyone pays in* and encouraging more cuts!

If this got implemented, you know what, the TaxPayers' alliance might be right...it may just stimulate job creation, but only to replace the public sector jobs that have to be outsourced to privatised groups to make up the shortfall in funding. This isn't a proposal for a simpler tax system, it's a proposal for the outright destruction of public services in the UK!

*Now I say everyone pays in less, this isn't true. A household with a person earning £200k would be, on these plans, at least £25k better off, as their top tax rate is slashed by almost 50% from 45% plus National Insurance (after Tories cut the 50p tax rate despite public wishes) to just 30%. A two person pensioner household would, if earning enough to go above the personal allowance threshold, see their top tax rate increase by 50% by comparison. If you thought the "Granny Tax" outcries were loud when the balance of policies increased pensioner earnings, wait until anyone tries to pass this doozy through a budget!

The Taxpayers' Alliance, everyone, fighting for high flying businessmen, wealthy families, risky hedge fund market traders, high income earners and bonus receivers...and maybe those that would like fuel prices to steady on for a little while.