The Burden of Inheritance and Stamp Duties

John O’Connell is the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a UK-based campaign group advocating for lower taxes, efficient government, and greater transparency in public spending. With years of experience analysing government budgets and economic policy, he has become one of the most vocal critics of Britain’s bloated bureaucracy, broken tax code, and failing public services.

In this interview, John lays out why Britain has stopped growing, how the tax burden has hit a post-war high, and why throwing more money at failing systems is making things worse. We explore the rising cost of living, the impact of over-regulation on small businesses, and how poorly designed taxes like inheritance tax and stamp duty are crippling opportunity and ambition. John argues that political reform, economic discipline, and a simpler tax code are the only way to reverse the UK’s stagnation and unlock real growth for working people.