Saturday, September 08, 2007

Poll: Britons Believe They Pay Too Much Tax

The Taxpayers' Alliance has a big survey out tomorrow. Among the findings are...

 Major landscape poll finds strong shift in public attitudes towards tax
 Council Tax is second biggest financial worry for UK families after rising utility bills
 Big majority think last ten years of higher public spending has been used badly
 63% think Ministers lack the experience, competence and knowledge to run public services

For the full details click HERE.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

And still the stupid sods keep voting Labour!

adrian said...

You were doing well until you wrote "The Taxpayers Alliance".

Ted Foan said...

Frit, are you adrian (12.26am)?

The TPA's ideas on taxation are the future, my old Labour friend. Brown's regime has caused so much damage that a radical reduction in the tax burden across the whole population is the only way we will be able to regenerate our economy and the prospects for our younger generation to compete globally.

Now, if the Conservatives could only just say this clearly we might stand a chance.

Anonymous said...

It wouldnt be so bad if we had the best services and the cleanest streets and a health service we can trust not to kill us with infections and armed forces equiped properly but we havnt so where has all my money gone?.After 10yrs of this shower taxing my car on line is the only thing that affects me that has improved.

Anonymous said...

"63% think Ministers lack the experience, competence and knowledge to run public services"

I agree. Indeed, as Matthew Parris has pointed out, most politicians have very little interest in government, in the sense of good public administration. Their interest is in the rough and tumble helter-skelter of politics. The nuts and bolts of administration they leave to the civil servants.

Unfortunately, all too often the civil servants screw up. They lack the financial and management disciplines needed to run the great departments of state.

You don't get on in the civil service by poring over the accounts, working out where the money is going and how it could be better spent. The 'high flyers' are all writing policy papers and jostling for proximity to ministers. Much more fun.

That's why, to give just one example, the Ministry of Defence buys office chairs at £1,000 each, and spends thousands on abstract art to hang in Whitehall, while soldiers in the field have to borrow each other's body armour.

Chris Paul said...

Next week's poll: 90% believe earth is sphere

Hughes Views said...

And do they believe the prices at Ikea are too high?

Snafu said...

Just as well that the Shadow Chancellor has now committed the Conservative Party to wasting as much of our tax money for the first three years of a Conservative Government as the Labour Party would!!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe Cameron and Osbourne are so pathetic as to be frightened of PROMISING voters that they will have money they have earnt put back in their pockets.

This Conservative party is an embarressing husk of what it should be.

Just wait until Brown out-manouvers them during the lection by offering hefty tax cuts, increased prisons and a crackdown on immigration.

He'll make us an electoral irrelevance.

Scipio said...

NEWS RELEASE: CHEESE MANUFACTURERS SAY "POL SHOWS WE ARE NOT EATING ENOUGH CHEESE"!

I'd be surprised if the TPA found anything other than these results, but I do happen to think the results are fairly accurate from my anacdotal conversations with people. Even those who were ardent supporters of change in 97 - and anticipated some rises in taxes - are now rather more sceptical in the face of the ever rising amounts of their wonga nicked from their wallet in one way or another by Gordon's gruuby fingers, with sod all to show for it!

Are you listening David? WE need to reduce the tax burden before we can start growing the economy, the proceeds of which you can the happily share!

Anyway, much more important news - Portugam just scored a try! COME ON PORTUGAL!!!!

Oh bugger - Scotland just scored their fourth. Hmmph!

Roger Thornhill said...

Council Tax is a big concern because people have to write out a cheque.

If they had to write out a cheque for NI (employer and employee) and to write out a cheque for taxes, they would have been up in arms far sooner.

Yak40 said...

Chris Paul said...
Next week's poll: 90% believe earth is sphere

Actually it approximates an ellipsoid :)

As for too much tax, seems to me Britons today pay far too much for just about everything.