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#38 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:56 am
Subject: Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T), 1/12/2007, 9:00
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
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Reminder from:   stalbanstaxpayersalliance Yahoo! Group
 
Title:   Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T)
 
Date:   Saturday 1 December 2007
Time:   9:00 - 15:00
Location:   Hatfield Farmers' & Traders' market, Hatfield
Street:   Market Square
City County Postcode:   Hatfield, AL10 0LJ
Phone:   07 947 035 000
Notes:   Event will be publicised.

Asda-Wal Mart and Tesco might also form part of the day, subject to permission.

Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=522517&Y=208610&A=Y&Z=1
 
Copyright © 2007  Yahoo! All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

#37 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Sun Nov 18, 2007 10:17 pm
Subject: New file uploaded to stalbanstaxpayersalliance
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
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Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the stalbanstaxpayersalliance
group.

   File        : /Briefing notes/briefing- What are Statements of Account-
20071118.doc
   Uploaded by : stalbanstaxpayersalliance
<stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
   Description : How to read a Statement of Account

You can access this file at the URL:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/stalbanstaxpayersalliance/files/Briefing%20note\
s/briefing-%20What%20are%20Statements%20of%20Account-%2020071118.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files

Regards,

stalbanstaxpayersalliance <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>

#36 From: "richard griffiths" <rgriffiths@...>
Date: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:17 am
Subject: Re: [stalbanstaxpayersalliance] Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T), 1/12/2007, 9:00
rgriffiths@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Martin
I now have the accounts from WHBC
When can I pass them to you?
Richard
------------------
Sent with Instant Email from T-Mobile

-----Original Message-----
From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: 17 Nov 2007 08:55:14
To:stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Subject: [stalbanstaxpayersalliance] Casual leafletting at market (Richard G &
Martin T), 1/12/2007, 9:00

a {color:#0066CC;text-decoration:none;} body {text-align:center;
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10px 0; margin-bottom:10px;} #main_info {background-color:white; margin:0px 10px
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{height:55px; margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px;zoom:1} #header_yahoo_image
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height:28px; text-align:left} #header_second_image {margin-top:10px;
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    <http://l.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/i/uk/yg/group.gif>
    <http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pim/cal/email/gr/cal_em_remind_1.gif>

Reminder from:   stalbanstaxpayersalliance Yahoo! Group:
<http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/stalbanstaxpayersalliance/cal>
 
Title:   Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T)
 
Date:   Saturday 1 December 2007
Time:   9:00 		 - 15:00
Next reminder:   The next reminder for this event will be sent in 10 days, 4
minutes.
Location:   Hatfield Farmers' & Traders' market, Hatfield
Street:   Market Square
City County Postcode:   Hatfield, AL10 0LJ
Phone:   07 947 035 000
Notes:   Event will be publicised.

Asda-Wal Mart and Tesco might also form part of the day, subject to permission.

Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=522517&Y=208610&A=Y&Z=1

 
  Get reminders on your Yahoo! Messenger or via email.Edit reminder options:
<http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/stalbanstaxpayersalliance/cal?v=75> Copyright
© 2007  Yahoo!: <http://www.yahoo.co.uk>  All Rights Reserved | Terms of
Service: <http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html>  | Privacy Policy:
<http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/uk>

#35 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:55 am
Subject: Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T), 1/12/2007, 9:00
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder from:   stalbanstaxpayersalliance Yahoo! Group
 
Title:   Casual leafletting at market (Richard G & Martin T)
 
Date:   Saturday 1 December 2007
Time:   9:00 - 15:00
Next reminder:   The next reminder for this event will be sent in 10 days, 4 minutes.
Location:   Hatfield Farmers' & Traders' market, Hatfield
Street:   Market Square
City County Postcode:   Hatfield, AL10 0LJ
Phone:   07 947 035 000
Notes:   Event will be publicised.

Asda-Wal Mart and Tesco might also form part of the day, subject to permission.

Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=522517&Y=208610&A=Y&Z=1
 
Copyright © 2007  Yahoo! All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

#34 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Fri Nov 9, 2007 9:22 pm
Subject: Public sector rich list 2005-06
stalbanstaxp...
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You can find the press release and appendices on
http://tpa.typepad.com/research/files/PublicSectorRichList.pdf .

#33 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Mon Nov 5, 2007 11:18 pm
Subject: Minutes of general meeting, 5 November 2007
stalbanstaxp...
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The minutes of the St Albans Taxpayers Alliance are now available on the group's "Files" section for your collection and review.

The headlines:
  • next leafletting campaign Sat 1 December 2007, Hatfield market (and possibly 2 superstores).
  • continue writing/blogging campaigns, consider forwarding to local political parties.
  • start of a major research project into the financial performance of neighbouring boroughs.
  • a more structured approach to analysing government waste.
  • a more structure use of FoIA requests.
  • read Bumper 2007.
  • reports of campaigns in October.
If you have any queries, please reply to the group.


#32 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Sun Nov 4, 2007 6:25 pm
Subject: General meeting, 5/11/2007, 18:30
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
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Reminder from:   stalbanstaxpayersalliance Yahoo! Group
 
Title:   General meeting
 
Date:   Monday 5 November 2007
Time:   18:30 - 20:00
Repeats:   This event repeats every month on the first Monday until Monday 3 March 2008.
Location:   The lounge, Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Hatfield
Street:   Comet Way
City County Postcode:   Hatfield, AL10 9RH
Phone:   07 947 035 000
Notes:   A general meeting of the activists in St Albans, Hatfield, Stevenage and other local branches to discuss & co-ordinate tactics, campaigns, events and issues.

All activists welcome.

Please read the agenda in the "Files" section of the group.

This meeting is publicised in the local press.


http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=521290&Y=208265&A=Y&Z=1
 
Copyright © 2007  Yahoo! All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

#31 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Mon Oct 29, 2007 6:27 pm
Subject: General meeting, 5/11/2007, 18:30
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder from:   stalbanstaxpayersalliance Yahoo! Group
 
Title:   General meeting
 
Date:   Monday 5 November 2007
Time:   18:30 - 20:00
Repeats:   This event repeats every month on the first Monday until Monday 3 March 2008.
Next reminder:   The next reminder for this event will be sent in 6 days, 2 minutes.
Location:   The lounge, Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Hatfield
Street:   Comet Way
City County Postcode:   Hatfield, AL10 9RH
Phone:   07 947 035 000
Notes:   A general meeting of the activists in St Albans, Hatfield, Stevenage and other local branches to discuss & co-ordinate tactics, campaigns, events and issues.

All activists welcome.

Please read the agenda in the "Files" section of the group.

This meeting is publicised in the local press.


http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=521290&Y=208265&A=Y&Z=1
 
Copyright © 2007  Yahoo! All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

#30 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:03 pm
Subject: Next general meeting: Monday 5 November 2007
stalbanstaxp...
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The next meeting of the TPA branches for St Albans & Hatfield is on Monday 5 November 2007, 6.30pm at the lounge bar at the Ramada Jarvis hotel.  This event will appear in the local press.

Do you have any agenda items, or other comments?

(the calendar will remind you about the event automatically twice before the event).


#25 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:03 pm
Subject: 20mph speed limit? A proposal to waste more money
stalbanstaxp...
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The proposal to introduce 20mph driving speed limit in all urban areas comes from a private charitable lobby group, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/16/20mph_speed_cam_big_bruv_disguised_as_nanny_state/

Aside from the damage of zealous of health & safety on our ability to survive the future, the other key issue is how the demand for government spending arises.

 


#24 From: "de_ruyter_schat" <de_ruyter_schat@...>
Date: Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:26 pm
Subject: Re: Is the Council competent to look into the use of plastic bags?
de_ruyter_schat
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Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that councils are encouraged by
central government to "tick" the right boxes and add to more "bumpf".

I agree that Supermanrkets could do the job just look at the bottle
banks at the stores. In the USA, stores have boxes at the entrance
just for plastic shopping bags and they are used constistently.

Michael



stalbanstaxpayersalliance@..., "stalbanstaxpayersallianc
e" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...> wrote:
>
> Supermarkets want to provide a service to their customers in the
most
> efficient way possible.   The major supermarkets have already
installed
> incentives to encourage their customers to recycle bags and go
green.
>
> So why are local councillors trying to re-invent the wheel?  What
can
> the councillors do that the supermarkets aren't already doing?  Why
is
> the taxpayer funding this project?
>
>
> http://www.royston-crow.co.uk/content/crow/news/story.aspx?
brand=ROYWest\
>
Online&category=News&tBrand=herts24&tCategory=newsroynew&itemid=WEED11
%2\
> 0Oct%202007%2014%3A41%3A08%3A453
>

#21 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:15 pm
Subject: Is the Council competent to look into the use of plastic bags?
stalbanstaxp...
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Supermarkets want to provide a service to their customers in the most efficient way possible.   The major supermarkets have already installed incentives to encourage their customers to recycle bags and go green.

So why are local councillors trying to re-invent the wheel?  What can the councillors do that the supermarkets aren't already doing?  Why is the taxpayer funding this project?


http://www.royston-crow.co.uk/content/crow/news/story.aspx?brand=ROYWestOnline&category=News&tBrand=herts24&tCategory=newsroynew&itemid=WEED11%20Oct%202007%2014%3A41%3A08%3A453


#20 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:07 pm
Subject: £45,000 councillor disciplinary hearing
stalbanstaxp...
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AN INQUIRY into a town councillor suspended for breaching the North Herts District Council's code of conduct has cost taxpayers £45,000.  The Council is now quarreling with Letchworth Garden City Town Council as to who should fund the £45,000.

And it appears that North Herts District Council applied its bureaucracy to justify the process that spend over £36,000 on external legal fees!  Letchworth Garden City Town Council apparently wanted to handle it in-house.

Not that the taxpayer should care, because it is a waste of taxpayers' money irrespective of which bureaucracy writes it in whose books.

Why can't the defaulting defendant Councillor pay it?  Why should the taxpayer fund a disciplinary that sounds like it originated from petty, personal, ego-driven politics?

Perhaps rules like that would stop all politicians wasting public money immediately.

http://www.thecomet.net/content/comet/news/story.aspx?brand=CMTOnline&category=News&tBrand=herts24&tCategory=newscomnew&itemid=WEED11%20Oct%202007%2011%3A41%3A29%3A283




#17 From: Saverio Bongo <saveriobongo@...>
Date: Tue Oct 9, 2007 8:27 am
Subject: Re: [stalbanstaxpayersalliance] Local events
saveriobongo
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Hi Martin,
 
I've reserved Thurs, 18 Oct after 6.30pm for Morrisons - I shall contact them to request Permission to give out leaflets and revert back.
 
Also set aside Saturday pm 20 Oct for St. Albans Market.
 
Have asked a few colleagues @ Fitness First Gym to find some leaflet distr volunteers.
 
Saverio

----- Original Message ----
From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
To: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Sent: Monday, 8 October, 2007 11:00:18 PM
Subject: [stalbanstaxpayersalliance] Local events

Dear Member

There are three new events on the group's calendar for the forthcoming week - casual leafletting at Hatfield car boot market (and Galleria), again at Morrison's supermarket in St Albans and again at St Albans market.

If you are interested in these events, please reply to this post or get in touch.

Yahoo will send you two reminders for each event.

Martin





For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month.

#16 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Mon Oct 8, 2007 10:26 pm
Subject: New file uploaded to stalbanstaxpayersalliance
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the stalbanstaxpayersalliance
group.

   File        : /Minutes/mins- Oct-07.doc
   Uploaded by : stalbanstaxpayersalliance
<stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
   Description : 20071008 (October 2007)

You can access this file at the URL:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/stalbanstaxpayersalliance/files/Minutes/mins-%2\
0Oct-07.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files

Regards,

stalbanstaxpayersalliance <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>

#15 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Mon Oct 8, 2007 10:00 pm
Subject: Local events
stalbanstaxp...
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Dear Member

There are three new events on the group's calendar for the forthcoming week - casual leafletting at Hatfield car boot market (and Galleria), again at Morrison's supermarket in St Albans and again at St Albans market.

If you are interested in these events, please reply to this post or get in touch.

Yahoo will send you two reminders for each event.

Martin



#14 From: stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Date: Mon Oct 8, 2007 9:19 pm
Subject: New file uploaded to stalbanstaxpayersalliance
stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the stalbanstaxpayersalliance
group.

   File        : /Group objectives and volunteers activities.doc
   Uploaded by : stalbanstaxpayersalliance
<stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
   Description : Group objectives and volunteers activities

You can access this file at the URL:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/stalbanstaxpayersalliance/files/Group%20objecti\
ves%20and%20volunteers%20activities.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files

Regards,

stalbanstaxpayersalliance <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>

#13 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Mon Oct 8, 2007 3:40 pm
Subject: Yet another review of grammar schools?
stalbanstaxp...
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Like a self-obsessed child squabbling in a play pen, the Government has announced yet another review of the rules by which activist parents can close (or convert) grammar schools.

The Government isn't really getting the message that "it ain't broke".  On the contrary, it seems rather happy to waste yet more public money on pursuing an ideological vendetta against focussed eduction, on the rather spurious claim of "creaming-off".

Meanwhile, politicians themselves stand idly by, letting the purist demagogues unleash their aggressive zeal against pragmatism and relevance.

http://education.guardian.co.uk/specialreports/grammarschools/story/0,,2186370,00.html

Can anybody provide examples of where the Government could better apply public resources to education policy?

 


#12 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2007 10:14 am
Subject: St Albans TPA: new email address
stalbanstaxp...
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Dear Member

Please note that St Albans Taxpayers Alliance has a general email address:

stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...

You may distribute this email address at will and use it for general recruitment, e.g. your comments on local newspapers' websites, your letters to external bodies (from whom you seek no reply).

However, the strength of the TPA's message is the dazzling number of different people who get involved, please avoid us falling into the trap of a single email address for many people.

Kind regards

Martin




#11 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2007 9:20 am
Subject: Article/book review: Channel Tunnel, "They Meant Well"
stalbanstaxp...
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The Evening Standard commented on 27-Sep-07 on the publication of "They Meant Well" (DR Myddleton, £12.50 from http://www.iea.org.uk).

The comment focuses on the Channel Tunnel rail link between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras, which cost £3,500 million and immediately rendered the £100 million upgrade of Waterloo station obsolete.  All this to save 20 minutes of travelling time.  And even then only for those who live on routes to St Pancras; to those living on Waterloo routes, the journey time just increased by more than 20 minutes!

The newspaper seems to have a broken website, so is unavailable electronically.  For the time being, a scanned copy sits in this group for review.



#10 From: "stalbanstaxpayersalliance" <stalbanstaxpayersalliance@...>
Date: Fri Oct 5, 2007 9:40 pm
Subject: Tax as a computer game?
stalbanstaxp...
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Remember PacMan?

Well, somebody has re-designed it to be Taxman Gordon!  Exactly the same as PacMan, but with a slightly different branding.

http://www.taxmangordon.com
Requires Internet Explorer running Flash Macromedia, or equivalent.



#9 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Thu Oct 4, 2007 12:00 pm
Subject: Post Office closure: decision rule
mjt95uk
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BBC 4 You and Yours, 12:45pm on Thursday 4 October 2007.

The sub-postmaster in Beverley, Martin Billy-Dalton, purchased the freehold, using a mortgage, to a property in which he planned to instal a sub-post office.

His post office had apparently appeared in the top 20.

The Post Office told him that he had to close the post office because it is too expensive for the Post Office.

The sub-postmaster's income is a proportion of his turnover on Post Office business.  So the more Post Office business the sub-postmaster does, the more he earns and the more the Post Office needs to pay.

The Post Office is wholly owned by the government, so any additional funding comes from the taxpayer.

So, let's get this straight: the state intervenes to provide "social" services (including local post offices), but then closes them to preserve money.  Yet the cost of the state continues to rise....  so the state fails both its duty to care to the taxpayer and its provision of "social" services to rural communities.

Trade unions succeeded in keeping the Post Office in public hands, and look at what's happening to it.  This week's postal strike will probably finish off the Royal Mail, unless the government splurges huge amounts of taxpayer's money to keep the edifice alive for political reasons.  In this respect, the trade unions have been as selfish with taxpayers' money as politicians typically aspire to.

The BBC will follow Mr Billy-Dalton until the closure of his post office in Mid-January.

Transcripts of You and Yours become available on http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/transcripts_index.shtml in due course.

 


#8 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Wed Oct 3, 2007 5:10 pm
Subject: Airports regulator set to rook the market; taxpayers at risk again
mjt95uk
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The Competition Commission has proposed price caps on BAA's services at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Whilst the smaller airlines want harsher caps, everybody wants to see an improvement of the infrastructure of the airports.

BAA argues that the price caps would impede BAA's ability to service debt, thus it would emperil any re-financing required to improve the infrastructure.

So, who pays?  Well, no-body has mentioned it yet, but there is this thing called "the taxpayer".  Yes, the infinite source of all cash is almost certainly going to be dragged into it because yet another government agent has ordered an economically illiterate, short-termist, backward-looking price cap.

As we saw with high-speed broadband, we again see with airports.

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=allBreakingNews&storyID=2007-10-03T125746Z_01_L03680021_RTRIDST_0_FERROVIAL-DEBT-UPDATE-4.XML&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=InvArt-C1-ArticlePage3

 

 


#7 From: "saveriobongo" <saveriobongo@...>
Date: Wed Oct 3, 2007 7:53 am
Subject: Big Brother spied on tip workers - £14k of taxpayers' cash fails to find a scrap
saveriobongo
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Hi ...

Another example of Money Wasted for NO GOOD CAUSE. Refer to newspaper
article entitled: "Big Brother spied on tip workers", BY STEVE LOWE
£14k of taxpayers' cash fails to find a scrap of evidence.

http://www.bedsonsunday.com/bedsonsunday-news/DisplayArticle.asp?
id=138052

Happy reading.. Saverio
saveriobongo@...
GSM: 07771-955227

#6 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:20 pm
Subject: Nationalisation of independent schools?
mjt95uk
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This is beyond the scope of St Albans, but interesting nevertheless.

http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200710/4b1cc7a7-cb09-4ad7-a098-
1ae087370aa7.htm

The government seeks to encourage independent schools to take public
money.

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is not particuarly
impressed, who see public money as a rachet of control.

Yet another intruiging use of public money: rather than fund services
that the private sector should provide, the government appears
willing to use public money to exercise politicised (and almost
certainly ideological) control.

I wonder, how does the taxpayer benefit from the nationalisation of
independent schools?

#5 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:14 pm
Subject: Severn Barrage gets "amber light"
mjt95uk
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Definitely beyond the scope of St Albans, but nevertheless the local
taxpayers will end up funding it.

The Sustainable Development Commission has recommended a plan to
build a hydro-electric barrage to bridge the mouth of the Severn
Estuary.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?
xml=/earth/2007/10/01/easevern101.xml

Other independent commentators appear in the above article, and their
degrees of dissent demonstrate that the SDC has likely jumped to a
conclusion.

Certainly, when the Welsh Secretary refers to the scheme as
a "trailblazer", by virtue of his position (not his expertise), then
one has to ask what the SDC's vested interest is.

The SDC is a government organisation, funded by the taxpayers via,
amongst others, the Welsh Assembly Government.  Aha!  There's the
vested interest then!

http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/aboutus.html
(see bottom of the above page)

Can we trust anything that government agencies and politicians say?

#4 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:00 pm
Subject: TPA: health care league table for Europe
mjt95uk
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Article "UK falls further down European health league despite rise in
funding"
Source: Guardian online

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2181427,00.html

The article discloses facts about a league table and draws a contrast
to the performance of the NHS, after additional public funding.

The data originates from Health Consumer Powerhouse, a "do-tank"
(presumably as distinct from a think-tank).
http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/archives/cat_news.html#689 .

A summary matrix of findings appears on
http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/media/Index_2007_matrix.pdf .

The HCP's own views appear on
http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/archives/cat_a_personal_view.html .

#3 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:34 am
Subject: TPA: article (is virtual profit taxable?)
mjt95uk
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Guys

This is beyond the scope of the local group, but it interesting
nevertheless.

Article: Virtual businesses: taxman gets unreal
Source: AccountancyAge
http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/comment/2198629/virtual-businesses-\
taxman-gets

This is a very scary development: the American Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) is looking at taxing virtual profits.

You can be sure that the UK's HMRC is thinking the same greedy way.

An accountant wrote into Accountancy Age with the following queries:
* Wouldn't a virtual gain only become taxable when it becomes a
realised gain (i.e. when converted into a real currency)?

* What if the virtual currency cannot be traded legally?  For example,
in the World of Warcraft, the website's terms & conditions clearly
states that the currency is illegal and that Blizzard still owns it.

* In what currency is the tax payable?  If you make a profit in Second
Life, do you need to pay 'Lindens' to HMRC/IRS?  Would they accept it?
  Would they know what to do with it?  Where is the product made?  Who
buys it?  Where are they (in which jurisdiction)?  What about foreign
exchange gains/losses?  What about allowable expenses incurred in the
course of making such 'profit'?

The accountant wrote in its letter, "Your article highlights the
possibility of something a lot of people would consider ridiculous.
There are people who are drawing $2,000+ a month from such games, is
this fully taxable?  It already is!"

Kind regards

Martin

#2 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:12 am
Subject: TPA: article (business tax)
mjt95uk
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Guys

This article is beyond the scope of the local group, but is
interesting nevertheless.

Article: Pre-packs boosted by High Court decision
Source: AccountancyAge

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/analysis/2199746/pre-packs-boosted-\
court-3501406


The story illustrates the general commercial stupidity of HMRC in its
business of collecting taxes.

A firm of solicitors owed HMRC some £1.7m.  HMRC took the firm to
court to wind the company up.

However, the administrators noted that this would not deliver the cash
to HMRC.  A better solution for the firm and HMRC was that the
business continues to trade.  So, the administrators instead sold the
business (as it turns out, they had a buyer already, giving the sale a
"pre-packaged" title).

Stupidly, HMRC attempted to block the sale of company.

In other words, HMRC chose to i) sacrifice any chance of collecting
tax owed to it; and, more importantly, ii) screw the interests of the
firm's clients.

Fortunately, the court saw the light and blocked HMRC's idiotic
witterings.  Both the taxpayer and the firm's clients gained as a
result of this decision.

But the taxpayer will need to suffer the on-going lunancy of HMRC.
After all, it is highly unlikely that a bureaucracy without any
commercial awareness whatsoever will learn from a single case.

Kind regards

Martin

#1 From: "mjt95uk" <martin.thornhill@...>
Date: Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:55 am
Subject: TPA: article
mjt95uk
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Guys

This is beyond the scope of the local group, but is interested
nevertheless.


Article: "Advisers shun HMRC advice"
Source: AccountancyAge, a free magazine for all accountants,
especially those in business (rather than public practice).

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2199705/advisers-shun-hmrc-adv\
ice-3509800

The point is that a more simple tax system would not require so many
professional advisors to confirm simple things with HRMC.  This
article paints a symptom of an over-complicated tax system.

Kind regards

mjt

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