27 November 2006

4.5 million people in East Anglia pay £756 million in unecessary tax

-  THAT’S AN AVERAGE OF £168 PER PERSON

Visit www.taketaxaction.co.uk for IFA Promotion’s top ten tax-saving tips

Eight out of ten (82%) taxpayers in East Anglia will waste a staggering £756 million in tax in 2006, amounting to £168 per adult, according to top findings from the fourteenth annual TaxAction* investigation, commissioned by IFA Promotion.

IFA Promotion, the organisation promoting the benefits of Independent Financial Advice, surveyed people in East Anglia on their attitudes to tax and found that the same amount (82%) have seen their tax burden rise over the last year; however the majority (77%) is doing nothing about it.

The research also found that the three most resented taxes in East Anglia are:-

1. Petrol duty
2. TV licencse fee of £121
3. Inheritance tax

But with £168 being thrown back at the tax man through poor planning, much of this resentment could be eliminated, and for many just a few simple measures could help stamp out a great deal of the wastage, says IFAP, which has launched a website to help people to stop squandering tax: www.taketaxaction.co.uk.

David Elms, Chief Executive of IFA Promotion, said, “The overwhelming confusion about how to make  the most of tax breaks, credits and reliefs has resulted in the majority of people in East Anglia squandering too much of their hard-earned cash unnecessarily.  No one likes paying tax, yet too few people do anything about it.  Sitting down with an independent financial adviser is a great place to start.”

Here’s how East Anglia compares with the other regions:

TaxAction 2006: The Waste by Region

	Tax wasters region m	Population that waste tax %	Waste per taxpayer £
East Anglia	4.5	81.8	168
North	2.2	86.4	141
Yorks/Humberside	3.9	83.4	154
West Midlands	4.2	81.9	141
East Midlands	3.6	83.6	151
Wales	2.4	82.9	138
South West	4.0	82.9	156
Greater London	5.9	81.6	173
Rest of South East	6.7	82.5	170
North West	5.9	86.5	139
Scotland	4.2	83.8	149
Northern Ireland	1.3	81.1	143
UK Average	48.6	82.4	155

Elms concluded, “We're urging people to take some simple measures to minimise the mountain of waste. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to turn these trends around by claiming credits and reliefs that are rightfully yours.  Discussing your financial planning situation with a local independent financial adviser should also help cut your waste considerably.”

As a first step to stamping out this waste, people can visit IFA Promotion’s dedicated website at www.taketaxaction.co.uk.  The site contains tips on how to save tax, an online tax wastage calculator, and a guide to saving tax, packed full of useful information.  People can also find details of local IFAs who can help you plan your finances tax efficiently on the site or by calling 0800 085 3250.

-ends-

For further information please contact:

David Elms                                               Holly Godden
Chief Executive                                        Lansons Communications
IFA Promotion                                          020 7294 3674
020 7833 3131                 

 For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call IFA Promotion’s Media Services hotline on 020 7294 3682 or search online in ‘Media Services’ at www.unbiased.co.uk

1.  Independent Financial Adviser Promotion

IFA Promotion was established in 1989 to promote the value and accessibility of independent financial advice to the public.  It represents around 9,000 firms of independent financial advisers across the UK and is sponsored by 32 leading financial institutions. In the past 12 months, over 530,000 consumers and businesses used IFA Promotion to find local independent financial advice.

IFA Promotion believes Independent financial advice should be:

·        Affordable.  The option to take independent financial advice should be available, by right, to all - not just the wealthiest in society.

·        Convenient.  IFAs should be available in the location of the consumer’s choice, wherever they live in the UK.

·       Transparent.  It must be clearly transparent to consumers who is able to offer independent financial advice and who is not.

2.      Independent Financial Adviser Promotion’s sponsors

Aberdeen Asset Management	National Savings & Investments
Abbey	NatWest Business Banking
AXA Life	New Star Investment Funds
Bright Grey	Norwich Union Life
BUPA Health Services	Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK)
Canada Life Ltd	Prudential
The Children’s Mutual	Scottish Equitable Plc
Clerical Medical Investment	Scottish Life
Friends Provident	Scottish Life International
GE Life	Scottish Widows Plc
GMAC Residential Funding	Skandia UK Group
INVESCO Fund Managers Ltd	Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited
Legal & General	Standard Life Assurance Company
London Mortgage Company	Unum Provident
Lincoln Financial Group	Webline Limited
Mortgage Express	Zurich Intermediary Group

 

Post this article to:
 del.icio.us    Digg    Newsvine    Reddit  

 Furl    MyYahoo!    Facebook

Read more press releases

Archive
Jul 2008 - Sep 2008 Apr 2008 - Jun 2008 Jan 2008 - Mar 2008 Oct 2007 - Dec 2007 Jul 2007 - Sep 2007 Apr 2007 - Jun 2007 Jan 2007 - Mar 2007 Oct 2006 - Dec 2006 Jul 2006 - Sep 2006 Apr 2006 - Jun 2006 Jan 2006 - Mar 2006 Oct 2005 - Dec 2005 Jul 2005 - Sep 2005 Apr 2005 - Jun 2005 Jan 2005 - Mar 2005 Oct 2004 - Dec 2004 Jul 2004 - Sep 2004 Apr 2004 - Jun 2004 Jan 2004 - Mar 2004 Oct 2003 - Dec 2003 Jul 2003 - Sep 2003 Apr 2003 - Jun 2003 Jan 2003 - Mar 2003 Oct 2002 - Dec 2002 Jul 2002 - Sep 2002 Apr 2002 - Jun 2002 Jan 2002 - Mar 2002 Oct 2001 - Dec 2001 Jul 2001 - Sep 2001 Apr 2001 - Jun 2001 Jan 2001 - Mar 2001 Oct 2000 - Dec 2000

 

Latest News:

£242 Million In Child Trust Fund Tax Breaks Will Go To Waste In 2008..., read all press releases...

Registered Office: IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB Legal Site Map Local IFA Investment Advice Business Advice RSS