General Principles

Taxation is one of the most insidious government intrusion into our lives because taxation on everything has become so normalised. Sir Liam Fox once pointed out how people’s incomes, then savings on that income, the movement of assets through capital gains tax and stamp duty, and then inheritance tax mean that individuals’ money is often taxed more than once.  For the person in the street, this is done under pain of harsh penalties.  Meanwhile, corporations are able to find tax loopholes while the Government looks the other way.  We have never been “all in this together”!

As the cost of keeping everything running continues to escalate but with less and less money available and vital public services continuing to be cut, we as a Party question whether the right questions about tax are being asked.  Rather than going straight to the questions of who should be paying what taxes and how much, we would first like to see where it is all going.  What is it, exactly, that is costing the taxpayer so much money?  We believe there should be much greater accountability and transparency.

The UK’s tax system is also highly complex – the tax code is some 20,000 pages long!  We therefore call for a simplified, slimmed-down tax system whose priority is to finance essential infrastructure and public services.  We call for more fruitful redirection of spending that cannot?? can be explained or and justified transparently in terms of how it benefits the public.

Income Tax

• Simplify the income tax system by merging PAYE and NI.

• Raise the personal allowance threshold to c£15000 to enable the lowest earners in the working population to be exempt from income tax

• The 40% band not to kick in until earnings over £100,000 p.a.

Corporation and Business Taxes

• Raise the income tax threshold or create tax breaks for sole traders, and remove small incorporated businesses from corporation tax

• Remove Business Rates for small shops (3,000 sq ft/280 sq m) to stimulate the High Street.

• Chain retailers and online-only businesses over £1m p.a. turnover to also pay an online sales tax to level the playing field between small independent retailers and giant online businesses.

• We would also explore how to use tax credits for innovation and further reduce tax burdens for startups to support entrepreneurship and thereby the independence possible through self-employment.

• Meanwhile, we would look to close tax loopholes exploited by multinational corporations and advocate giving HMRC greater powers to ensure these corporations pay their fair share of tax.

• We would also look to raise the Digital Services Tax on large tech companies to ensure that they contribute more to the economy.

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

• Reform and simplify the VAT system.  With the UK’s exit from the EU we could return to a simplified sales or purchase tax instead.

• Immediately reduce VAT to 15% and investigate means to cut this still further.

• No VAT on home energy and heating, sanitary products, and other essentials.

• No VAT on education-related goods and services.

• Overhaul the classification of goods and services to streamline this and bring it up to date.  What counted as a “luxury good” in 1973 may be completely different today.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Stamp Duty

• Abolish IHT, as it nowadays penalises ordinary families who were not the original target of the tax.  Meanwhile, the super-rich find tax avoidance strategies for not paying, thus IHT fails again as a policy.

• Scrap Stamp Duty on properties under £1.5m.

Social Security Contributions and Public Spending

• We emphasise the role of fiscal responsibility in public spending.  Freedom Alliance would look to tackle public sector waste and balancing the national budget, and call for more transparency and accountability in public sector spending.  Efficient public procurement would be a priority.

• We oppose spending on vanity projects such as HS2.

• Public borrowing and debt is an area that needs urgent overhaul.

• We would look at means to reduce welfare dependency and increase self-sufficiency through employment or entrepreneurship.

Climate-Related Taxes

• We oppose the idea of climate-related taxes being used to punish consumers for their purchasing choices.  We would abolish climate change taxes and “green” taxes.

• We would also abolish subsidies for wind turbines and solar panels, which take up prime agricultural land and drive up energy costs for consumers.

• Some checks and balances may be warranted where pollution is concerned.  However, rather than further taxing the individual, we would prefer such efforts are directed at the corporate or organisational sources of pollutants such as excess packaging, refuse disposal, pollution of the air, land, waterways etc.

Addressing Regional Inequality

• In keeping with our localist instincts, we would examine ways to devolve tax powers more locally to increase accountability.

• More specific policies could thus be targeted at economic disparities between different regions of the UK, such as targeted tax incentives or relief for underdeveloped areas.

Where is the money going

Once, it was possible for a family to live comfortably on one partner’s wages. There was enough money for us to have decent public services. Now both seem like an impossible dream. Every other party talks about where funds come from, who should we tax and how much tax should they pay. But the elephant in the room that they never mention where it’s being spent. We pay more and more for less and less. Freedom Alliance wants to know where the money is going.

If the money is disappearing into a financial black hole, why should taxpayers be on the hook for it?

We call for a comprehensive audit of government spending to identify inefficiencies, waste, and misallocation of funds.

Key areas where public money often disappears:

1. Debt Interest Payments – The UK has a significant national debt, and a large portion of tax revenue goes toward servicing this debt (payments to bondholders) rather than improving services. While some borrowing can be a useful tool if used wisely (e.g. funding infrastructure or public services that create long-term economic growth), much of the UK’s borrowing has been to cover deficits rather than invest in productive assets.  Rising interest rates mean that the UK is paying more and more just to service the debt, without any added benefit.

Freedom Alliance would look to renegotiate terms on existing debts, put economic growth and value for money first before considering future borrowing, and ensure taxpayer money is being used wisely rather than just endlessly borrowing.

Who holds UK debt? A significant portion of the UK's national debt likely vanishes into a financial web that is deliberately opaque. This happens through such things as offshore holdings and tax havens which shield identities, making it hard to trace the ultimate beneficiaries of UK debt payments.  The Bank of England owns a massive chunk of UK debt through Quantitative Easing - buying gilts from banks and investors. But where did that money go? Banks were supposed to lend it out, yet much of it ended up in speculative markets rather than benefiting ordinary people. And global financial players use derivatives and complex instruments to move money around undetected, where the real creditors may not be the institutions we think we owe, but hidden players in the black economy.

Is this by design?  Governments, central banks, and financial elites benefit from a system where money flows in circles but remains largely unaccountable. If a forensic audit of the UK’s debt happened, it might expose not just waste but deliberate misdirection.

Freedom Alliance therefore calls for a full crackdown in the form of:

• Full Transparency Laws – Mandatory disclosure of all offshore financial activity connected to UK investments.

• Debt Audit and Sovereign Renegotiation – If large investment corporations control national debt, we demand to know on what terms - or refuse to pay.

• Closing Corporate Loopholes – If corporations operate in the UK, they must pay tax in the UK - no exceptions.

• State-Owned Strategic Industries – If corporations control everything vital (energy, housing, water), we must take back key assets from private monopolies.

The truth is, the legacy political parties won’t challenge the huge corporations - because they depend on them.

2. Bureaucracy and Administrative Costs – Public sector inefficiencies, layers of management, and outsourcing to private firms often drive up costs.

The Quango Industry: The UK has hundreds of quangos (quasi-autonomous government bodies) that spend billions with no public accountability.  For example: The Equality & Human Rights Commission costs £17 million per year, despite most of its work duplicating other government agencies.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Abolish unnecessary quangos that duplicate functions of government departments.

• Consolidate agencies where possible - merge overlapping quangos to reduce waste.

• Cut executive pay for remaining quangos. Many quango heads earn more than the Prime Minister.

• Ensure all quangos face public spending reviews every 2 years.

Public Sector Pay & Pensions – Cut Executive Bloat: While frontline workers struggle, senior bureaucrats get massive salaries, bonuses, and gold-plated pensions.  For example: Over 7,000 civil servants earn £100,000+ per year, many in "non-essential" roles.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Cap public sector executive pay at £100k - no civil servant should earn more than the PM (£167k).

• Scrap bonuses for government bureaucrats unless linked to clear performance targets.

• Reform civil service pensions - no more taxpayer-funded early retirements at 55.

• Shift spending from bloated admin roles to frontline workers (police, NHS, firefighters).

• Harness the power of AI to reduce the burden of paperwork in all public services, firstly the Police and Judiciary, to enable more officers to be visible on the streets, and to create faster pathways to criminal courts.

3. Waste and Mismanagement – The NHS, military, and councils waste millions on bloated contracts with no real oversight.

Projects like HS2, failed IT systems, and procurement scandals (e.g., during COVID-19) highlight areas where billions are lost.  For example, the UK spent £37 billion on a failed COVID Test & Trace system, handed to private firms instead of NHS staff.

Furthermore, the UK government overpays private contractors for services that could be done cheaper and better in-house.

Freedom Alliance calls for:

• Mandate independent audits of all government contracts over £1 million.

• Cut outsourcing where possible - keep key public services in-house to save money.

• Blacklist companies that repeatedly overcharge the government.

• Ensure public tenders are transparent & open to UK small businesses, not just global firms.

Ideological Spending:

The Government spends millions on DEI consultants, unconscious bias training, and HR bureaucracies that do nothing to improve public services.  For example: NHS spent £40 million on DEI officers while facing severe staff shortages.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Ban taxpayer-funded DEI consultants.

• Scrap mandatory diversity training in the public sector.

• Redirect funds to frontline services (e.g. NHS, police, fire service).

• Audit all DEI spending across government departments.

• Remove the link with NESTA Behavioural Insights (nudge) unit and similar - an accountable government should not need to use propaganda or paying for a private firm to do so.

Net Zero Policies – Stop Costly and Unnecessary Green Projects: Net Zero policies are driving up energy bills, harming businesses, and forcing councils to waste money on pointless "green" initiatives.  For example: Local councils spend millions on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) that disrupt communities and kill high streets.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Freeze Net Zero spending.

• Stop funding road restrictions (LTNs, ULEZ, 15-minute city schemes).

• Scrap taxpayer subsidies for unreliable renewables.

• Encourage universities and UK companies to innovate without subsidy bias for the best future energy solutions

4. Foreign Aid and Contributions to Global Organisations – The UK spends billions on foreign aid, but much of it goes to corrupt governments, NGOs with no public accountability, or globalist projects that do not benefit ordinary people.  For example: the UK government sent £51 million to China in 2021, despite China having a space programme and global investments.

Freedom Alliance would:

• End foreign aid to wealthy nations and corrupt regimes. No aid for China, India, or countries with nuclear programmes.

• Audit all foreign aid spending and cut non-essential projects. Focus aid on disaster relief, and not vague "climate resilience" schemes.

• Stop funding NGOs that promote ideological agendas rather than genuine development that benefits ordinary people.

• Introduce a public referendum on foreign aid budgets to ensure transparency.

5. Military & Defence Spending – The UK maintains a strong military presence.  We need to look at where this is necessary to actually defend the realm, as opposed to just being part of a wider campaign of overreaching Western interference.

Furthermore, the UK overspends on failed defence projects while underfunding soldiers and frontline forces. Billions go to defence contractors who deliver late, over budget, or don’t deliver at all.  For example: The UK spent £5.5 billion on Ajax tanks that don’t work - so bad that they cause hearing damage to troops.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Audit all major defence contracts - cancel ones that are failing.

• Cut wasteful bureaucracy in the Ministry of Defence.

• Ensure military spending focuses on UK defence, not foreign interventions.

• Stop arms deals that benefit private contractors while leaving UK forces under-equipped.

6. Fraud and Corruption – The UK loses over £50 billion a year to fraud, which is more than the entire defence budget.Sadly not true - it was £60bn in 24/25 so i would remove this part of the statement

Public sector procurement fraud, tax fraud, and benefits fraud are rampant.  For example: £4.5 billion in COVID business loans were stolen by fraudsters and the Government just wrote it off.

Freedom Alliance would:

• Investigate and prosecute public sector fraud.

• Recover stolen COVID funds - trace, seize, and prosecute those responsible.

• Stop writing off fraud losses - every stolen taxpayer pound must be pursued.

• Introduce real-time fraud detection failsafes into tax systems to prevent losses before they happen.

7. Subsidies & Corporate Welfare – Certain industries receive taxpayer subsidies while essential public services struggle.

Stop Handouts to Billionaires.  The UK government gives billions in subsidies to big corporations, energy giants, and failing industries.  Many of these firms pay little or no tax while taking public money.  For example: The UK gave £200 million to Google in subsidies while it paid virtually no corporation tax.

Freedom Alliance would:

• End corporate subsidies for already-profitable multinationals.

• Ban energy price guarantee subsidies going to companies making record profits.

• Stop bailing out failing corporations - if a business can’t survive without taxpayer money, it shouldn’t exist.  It goes without saying there should be no bonuses or shareholder payouts as long as a business is being supported with public money.

• Redirect funds to small businesses and local enterprise instead of global corporations.

The other parties focus their tax policies on who should pay what tax, and how much.  Freedom Alliance would prioritise examining the other side of the balance sheet first - where is the money going?