Justin Tomlinson MP has given his support to a campaign by MP Ben Gummer to see transparency in the tax system.
Introduced in a Ten Minute Rule Motion last week, the principle is a simple one: the Government should tell people how it spends their money.
Under the motion, the Chancellor would issue annually to each payer of Income Tax and National Insurance a statement detailing the payments made in the lost recent tax year, the estimated payments to be made the following tax year, and a breakdown of the areas of government spending on which payments are to be spent.
Justin Tomlinson MP said “I believe we should re-establish an important principle: that just as we are under an obligation to pay tax, the government should be obliged to tell us how it spends our money. The saying goes ‘no taxation without representation’, but we can’t fully hold our representatives to account unless we know how they spend our taxes.
“As a champion of consumer issues in Parliament, especially the clear labelling of financial products, the statement should describe in straight and simple cash terms how the money is spent, so that it is easy to understand.”
