Tag Archives: taxpayers' alliance

TaxPayers' Alliance director pays no UK tax

The Loirce, France, home to TPA director Alexander Heath

The Loire, France, home to TPA director Alexander Heath

The Tory-linked “campaign group” TaxPayers’ Alliance has been forced to admit that one of its directors hasn’t paid a penny of UK tax in years. Alexander Heath – who, strangely enough, is not listed on the TPA website – lives in a farmhouse in the French Loire. Heath returns to the UK “for about a fortnight each year and owns no property in Britain”.

The revelation comes after frontbenchers repeatedly ducked the question of the tax status of Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft at conference this week. Connections such as the “revolving door” of donors between the Conservative Party and the TPA may indicate this week’s protestations about “big government” may have rather less to do with pragmatic fiscal policy than a bunch of shrill free market nutjobs having the ear of Cameron and Osborne.

John Cruddas has commented wryly that “the least we can expect for an organisation that purports to represent the interests of British taxpayers is that it is run by people that pay British tax”.

Those unconvinced of the moronic nature of TPA’s ubiquitous media presence should have a go with this spoof quote generator and then compare it to their actual rent-a-quotes.

The “Other Taxpayers’ Alliance” has more and Prezza reckons the group should be described by broadcasters as “a group with close links to the Conservative Party”.

It had to happen: The TaxPayers' Alliance quote generator

Any lefty with an internet connection and a pulse has surely used the Daily Mail-o-Matic to generate headlines such as ”COULD THE METRIC SYSTEM STEAL FROM COMMON SENSE AND DECENCY?” and ”WILL HEALTH & SAFETY GIVE YOUR PENSION CANCER?”

A quick seach on Google News shows that – in the past week alone – there have been 327 seperate media references to reactionary rent-a-quotes The TaxPayers’ Alliance. Exhibit A:

“This is a large financial burden for Hull taxpayers. Most of them won’t take anywhere near this amount of sick leave themselves.” – Mark Wallace, TaxPayers’ Alliance

You get the idea. Such is the ubiquity of their formulaic drivel that it was surely only a matter of time before some whizzkids put together another quote generator:

TaxPayers' Alliance quote generator

So hats off to The Other TaxPayer’s Alliance (pursue them on Twitter here). This will surely save hacks at the Daily Express a whole lot of time!

And guess whose book the TPA are plugging on their website!

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