Globalisation:Taxpayers' Alliance

Ross McLauchlan Catherine MacDonald Angela Devine Katie Blair

History and Ideology

The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a British pressure group formed to tackle the lack of an adequate taxpayers’ organisation in the UK. Founded in 2004 by Andrew Allum, Matthew Elliott and Florence Heath, the Taypayers’ Alliance is Britain's independent, non-partisan campaign for low a tax society and better services (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).

Starting out as a volunteer operation, the TPA first came to the attention of the national media with the publication of the first “Bumper Book of Government Waste”. The reception of this research, alongside the strong support led to a rapid and sustained expansion (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).

With a full-time team of staff working out of its office in the heart of Westminster, the TPA has firmly established itself as the country's leading voice on transparency and accountability in government; with registered supporters increasing from 5,000 in its first year to a current figure of almost 60,000 supporters. The TPA has also been at the forefront of campaigns against MPs' expenses abuses, the need for public spending transparency, the growth of the quango state, the costs and wastefulness of the EU, and excessive executive public sector pay, among others (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/history.html).

Despite the alleged non-partisan nature of the TPA, it has been accused of being a Conservative Party "front”, with all three founders, and a number of TPA staff members being affiliated with the Conservative Party and have strong links with the Freedom Association. Alliance backers, such as Anthony Bamford, a director of Staffordshire-based JC Bamford, have also donated large sums of money to the Conservative Party (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/09/taxpayers-alliance-conservative-pressure-group). However, the group's leadership has denied such an affiliation with the Conservative party.

The TPA has also recently come under scrutiny from the Charity Commission following claims that the TPA was using a charitable branch of its organisation, the Politics and Economics Research trust, to fund politically motivated research (http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/archive/975375/Charity-Commission-opens-investigation-Taxpayers-Alliance/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH).

The TaxPayers' Alliance is Britain's independent grassroots campaign for lower taxes. After years of being ignored by politicians of all parties, the TPA is committed to forcing politicians to listen to ordinary taxpayers. The mission of the TPA is "to reverse the perception that big government is necessary and irreversible; to explain the benefits of a low tax economy; to give taxpayers a voice in the corridors of power; to oppose EU tax harmonisation.” (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/mission.html).

To this end, the TaxPayers' Alliance intends to: oppose all tax rises; oppose EU tax harmonisation; criticise all examples of wasteful and unnecessary spending; and champion opportunities for votes on tax and spending (http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/mission.html).

Funding

Since the Taxpayers Alliance was launched six years ago, it has become the most influential pressure groups in the country and yet it refuses to publish details of its benefactors, and how it manages to pay for its £1 million a year operation. An investigation by the Guardian has determined that it is funded largely from wealthy donors, many of whom are prominent supporters of the Conservative party. The Midlands Industrial Council for example, which has donated £1.5m to the Conservatives since 2003, said it has given the Taxpayers Alliance around £80,000 on behalf of 32 owners of private companies. Tony Gallagher, owner of Gallagher UK, a property company that gave the Conservatives £250,000 in 2007, is also a member of the Midlands Industrial Council, as is Christopher Kelly who owns the international haulage firm Keltruck, and Robert Edmiston who owns IM Group, an international vehicle importer.

Also, a spokesman for Sir Anthony Bamford, the JCB tycoon, whose family and company have donated more than £1m to the Conservatives, said he has helped fund the Taxpayers Alliance, as has the construction magnate Malcolm McAlpine, a director of Sir Robert McAlpine, the construction firm building London's Olympic stadium, has given an undisclosed amount to the Taxpayers Alliance. David Alberto, co-owner of serviced office company Avanta, has also donated Elliott and his 14 staff a suite in Westminster worth £100,000 a year because he opposes the level of tax on businesses. Alberto has an offshore family trust but said 90% of his wealth is in the UK, where he pays tax. Other businessmen named by the Taxpayers Alliance as supporters, include spread betting tycoon Stuart Wheeler who gave £5m to the Conservatives before he endorsed the UK Independence party; Sir Rocco Forte, the hotelier; and Sir John Craven, chairman of mining group Lonmin.

Funding has soared then from £67,457 in 2005 to more than £1m and the number of supporters has increased 60% this year as a result of the combined effect of the recession and the MPs' expenses scandal. The questions its critics ask therefore is whether it really is an alliance of ordinary taxpayers, and how close it is to the Tory party hierarchy? According to some Labour figures such as MP Jon Cruddas, the Taxpayers Alliance is a Tory front operation run by big powerful business interests who want to resist from paying tax by poisoning the well of public debate around the issue. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/09/taxpayers-alliance-conservative-pressure-group

Investigations by The Charity Commission have suggested that the Tax Payers Aliance (TPA) have gained funding from 'The Politics and Economics Trust,' a charity it runs seperately from the TPA. Despite claims by The Guardian that the TPA is making use of money from the charity, Matthew Elliot, Cheif Executive, claims that the idea will come as a surprise to Conservative party members who have been heavily scrutinised by the TPA. Tax Payers Alliance Denies 'political research claims' The Guardian have claimed that the TPA may have used the charity they are linked with to gain tax relief and Gift Aid usually used for good causes, for political research. In order to do so, it is claimed that the TPA asked buisness men to fund the alliance through the trust. Under guidelines of the Charity Commission organisations cannot be both charitable and politically motivated. However, Cheif Executive of the TPA, Michael Elliot, states that the grants obtained through the Politics and Economics Research Trust have funded research which has been looked at with an open mind. He states that none of the grants have gone to any political activity. John Prescot, former deputy PM, claims that the TPA are exploitive rather than representative. He wrote to the Charity Commission to demand that they suspend the TPA's status as a charity. Taxpayers' Alliance charitable arm under tax investigation