The move follows a pledge made by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget to provide each taxpayer with a personal statement, setting out how much tax and National Insurance each person paid and what it contributed to public expenditures.
‘I promised that taxpayers would know much more about how much direct tax they pay and how that money is spent,’ Osborne said today.
‘Now we’re delivering on that promise by giving 24 million taxpayers a new personal tax summary. It is a revolution in transparency and it will show how hardworking taxpayers have to pay for what governments spend.’
The 16 million PAYE taxpayers will receive their summaries in the post at some time over the next seven weeks, while the 8 million taxpayers who complete self-assessment returns will be able to access their tax summary online.
The statements break public spending down into welfare, health, education, state pension, national debt interest, defence, criminal justice, transport, business & industry, government administration, culture, environment, housing & utilities, overseas aid and contribution to the European Union budget.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance commented that the summaries did not include indirect taxes.
‘But the summaries, nonetheless, will serve as a useful reminder that every penny spent by government has to be raised by government,’ said the TPA’s communications campaign manager Andy Silvester.
