TaxPayers’ Alliance: Another quarter of economic contraction is dismal news for families already struggling to make ends meet |

Wednesday 25th July 2012 | 11:42

TaxPayers’ Alliance: Another quarter of economic contraction is dismal news for families already struggling to make ends meet

TaxPayers’ Alliance press release

Commenting on today’s announcement that the economy shrank by 0.7 per
cent in the second quarter of 2012, Matthew Sinclair, Director of the
TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“Yet another quarter of economic contraction is dismal news for
families already struggling to make ends meet. The evidence doesn't
support those blaming Britain's economic woes on cuts in government
spending though, as the Government and other services category actually
expanded in the quarter. The most immediate problem is in the ailing
construction sector. While public sector capital spending is set to be
cut relatively sharply, the real problem is market uncertainty being
compounded by new taxes like empty property rates, which massively
increases the risk for investments in commercial property, and Section
106, an increasingly punishing tax on new developments. If the
Government are serious about making the health of our economy their top
priority, then they need to deliver a less onerous tax system, which
doesn't get in the way of the investment that can deliver more jobs and
higher wages.”

The recommendations in the final report of the 2020 Tax Commission from
the TaxPayers' Alliance and the Institute of Directors, the Single
Income Tax, are: