I currently work for the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance and the Manx Cooperative society. A Douglas East voter posted some questions on social media about my work for the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance.
“What income does the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance generate?”
Currently, the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance, like many not-for-profit organisations on the Isle of Man, receives donations from concerned Manx residents. We hope to launch merchandise and run events in the fullness of time.
“How does it earn enough money to pay you full-time?”
As advised above, the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance is funded by donations from the people of Mann. We’ve had an outpouring of support, because there is widespread concern that the taxes of the Isle of Man are spent well.
“What do you do for them?”
I helped to found the organisation, and serve the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance by research and analysis on public issues of concern. The Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance fights for taxes to be low, fair and simple; for high levels of Government transparency; and for Manx taxpayers to get good value for money.
I’ve revealed things such as Douglas Council wasting £24,000 on losing legal fees to try to recover £3,500 from a manual worker who couldn’t work for part of the COVID pandemic period. I’ve documented three consecutive years of payroll budget blowouts at Bus Vannin. I’ve published a handy calculator to estimate the cost of ending holiday hunger through holiday food vouchers for children receiving free school meals.
“What’s a typical day working for them like and how were you recruited?”
It’s varied! We get various whistleblowers contact us from time to time, who encourage us to investigate various areas. Some of them end up being red herrings, some of them reveal important information. I spend a lot of time trawling through relatively boring Government documents to understand how the taxes paid by the people and business of Mann are spent. Sometimes we find something interesting. Sometimes we don’t.
“Are you on a consultancy agreement, directorship, permanent or fix term contract? If so when does it expire?”
I am a full-time employee, and a director, of the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance.