Cracks in ‘Green' Consumer Conscience When it Comes to Tax (consumer)

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• Half of UK consumers not prepared to pay more tax to combat green issues
• Only one in five air travelers happy to pay ‘green tax’ on ‘carbon-miles’ air travel
• While one in 20 don’t care about green issues at all!  

Figures out today from Unbiased.co.uk, the website promoting the benefits of independent financial advice, shows that despite many UK consumers being prepared to adopt a more ‘green’ lifestyle, 50 per cent are still not prepared to pay more tax to help combat green issues believing they already pay too much tax. At the same time over one in 20 (7 per cent) ‘Green Meanies’ don’t care about green issues at all.

With holiday season now upon us and air travel a major contributor to our ever increasing carbon footprints, only one in five (20 per cent) said they would be happy to pick up the tab for increased tax on air travel.

However all is not lost – when it comes to car travel, almost a quarter (23 per cent) said they’d be prepared to pay more car tax if the money was used to reduce carbon fumes on motor vehicles – despite one in 10 (11%) claiming this to be their most resented tax. And almost a fifth (17 per cent) said they’d be happy to reach into their pockets if the money was used to tackle issues closer to home such as littering.

Those in the 25-34 age range were most open to paying tax on air travel (24 per cent) while almost two thirds (63 per cent) of the 45-54 year-old group were the most reluctant to pay extra tax for green issues (63 per cent).

David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk comments, “Tackling green issues is probably high on most consumer’s wish lists, yet in reality many are not prepared to reach into their pockets to help contribute to the cause, mainly because they believe they are paying too much tax already. The irony is that many people are needlessly wasting their money on paying existing taxes due to a lack of understanding and guidance.

“No one likes paying taxes and this is evident with two thirds of us saying we resent rising taxes. The onus is, more than ever, on the individual to get their financial affairs in order. When it comes to tax, there are a number of simple steps people can take to reduce the amount the Chancellor takes from them.  Time spent filling in a form, or making a will, or ensuring savings are protected by an ISA, take relatively little time, but will probably be some of the most effective time you will spend this year.  Plus the money you save by reducing your tax wastage could then allow you to be ‘greener’. 

“Since we launched TaxAction fifteen years ago, we have seen a steady increase in the amount of tax we throw away. This year’s report shows we waste £7.9 billion, the highest since the campaign began. People who want to reduce the amount they waste should visit an independent financial adviser who can show you how to become tax savvy with your finances.

As a first step to stamping out this waste, visit Unbiased.co.uk’s dedicated website at www.unbiased.co.uk/taketaxaction.  The site contains tips on how to save tax, an online tax wastage calculator, and a guide to saving tax. You can also find details of local IFAs on the site or by calling 0800 085 3250.

-ends-

* Survey for IFA Promotion by YouGov, using a sample of 2610 people in February 2007.

** TaxAction 2007 report produced for IFA Promotion by RAKM, based on a specially commissioned analysis of Inland Revenue and a range of other official data sources.

Tax doesn’t have to be taxing – Here are 10 basic ways to claw back some of the waste:

·         IF YOU HAVE ASSETS OVER £300,000: Plan your inheritance - an extra £1.5 billion could go to chosen heirs by planning properly to avoid IHT liabilities. IHT is often lost through not writing life assurance policies in trust, not thinking about inheritance tax allowances and, worst of all, by not making a will at all.

·         IF YOU SAVE: Use up your annual ISA allowance - £382 million in tax could be avoided by sheltering investments in ISAs, or moving savings from an ordinary deposit or savings account to an ISA. Also consider a Friendly Society savings account or products from National Savings & Investments as tax-efficient savings options.

·         IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE: Claim your tax credits - £2.3 billion of ‘free money’ is up for grabs from HMRC and the DWP, in the form of Pension Credits, Child Tax Credits and Working Family Tax credits.

·         IF YOU FILL IN A TAX RETURN: Sort out your self-assessment - £463 million waste could be wiped out by all forms arriving present and correct by the 31st January deadline. Self-assessment forms received after the deadline incur penalties of £100; further penalties and errors make up the balance of tax wasted in this way.

·         ALL TAXPAYERS: Maximise your personal tax allowances - £546 million goes begging each year, £322 million through non-taxpayers failing to claim tax back on banks and building society savings accounts, and a further £224 million by taxpayers not transferring savings accounts to non-taxpaying spouses, if appropriate, so that the tax liability on the savings is lower, or none.

·         IF YOU SAVE: Top up your pension pot - £739 million could be spared by optimising contributions to personal or company pension schemes, or making Additional Voluntary Contributions.

·         IF YOUR EMPLOYER OFFERS AN EMPLOYEE SHARE PLAN: Take advantage of it - £171 million is up for grabs for the estimated 600,000 staff currently in Profit Related Pay schemes.

·         IF YOU HAVE CAPITAL GAINS: Use your allowance efficiently, perhaps by transferring assets between spouses to make the most of both of your CGT allowances - £510 million could be saved in this way.

·         IF YOU GIVE TO CHARITY: £1 billion more could go to good causes by using tax-efficient means of charitable giving, i.e. using a deed of covenant, Gift Aid or payroll giving.

·         IF YOUR CHILD OR GRANDCHILD IS ELIGIBLE FOR A CHILD TRUST FUND: Avoid waste byusing up the tax free saving potential - £125 million in tax could be saved in their first year of existence.

For further information please contact:

For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call unbiased.co.uk’s Media Services hotline on

020 7294 3682 or search online at www.unbiased.co.uk/media

1.      Independent Financial Adviser Promotion

Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion, the organisation 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, incorporating over 17,000 registered individuals. These individuals hold over 20,000 incremental qualifications which are each individually verified by the awarding body. IFA Promotion welcomes the prominent display of incremental qualifications and further developments into the credentials of independent financial advice. 

IFA Promotion is sponsored by 28 leading financial institutions, and in the past 12 months, over 600,000 consumers and businesses used unbiased.co.uk 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

Registered Office: IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606

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