TAP Directors
Taxpayers Against Poverty is a registered company, limited by Guarantee 12954399
The Directors are:
Tom Burgess
CEO TAP, Director Compassion in Politics
Fred Harrison
Economist, journalist and author
Matt Hawkins
CEO Global Compassion Coalition, Co-founder Compassion in Politics
Krissie Nicolson
Community worker and Rev Paul’s daughter
TAP Advisory Board
The TAP Advisory Board is a collective of respected voices from across public life who guide and support the organisation’s mission to tackle poverty and inequality at its roots. Members provide strategic input, amplify campaigns, and enhance TAP’s ability to influence meaningful change. If you would like more information on TAPs advisory Board, or would like to put yourself or someone else forward please email us
George Turner
George Turner joins the Advisory Board following his tenure as Director of TaxWatch UK, where he led groundbreaking investigations into corporate tax avoidance and the role of taxation in building a fairer society. A former investigative journalist, Turner has long championed transparency, accountability, and tax justice—principles that lie at the heart of TAP’s mission.
Paul Morrison
Paul Morrison brings a wealth of experience in poverty and social justice, with a deep understanding of the structural causes of deprivation in the UK. His work with the Methodist Church’s JPIT team focuses on poverty and inequality, and a friend of TAP’s late founder, the Rev. Paul Nicolson. His appointment continues the legacy of Rev. Nicolson’s vision: that poverty is a political choice, and can be eradicated through collective action and compassionate policy.
Oliver Williams
Oliver is a senior fintech executive with a background in financial journalism and a long-standing advocate for social justice, equity, and youth empowerment. Oliver brings over 15 years of experience in finance, communications, and public messaging. Oliver has been a champion for diversity and inclusion, chairing Race and Ethnicity Networks and serving on Diversity Councils across the financial sector. His voluntary work includes mentoring young Afro-Caribbean people through organisations such as the East London Business Alliance and Reach Society, for which he received a national award.
OUR TEAM
Tom Burgess
Tom is the Chief Executive of Taxpayers Against Poverty, he worked and supported Rev Paul Nicolson in his campaigning. Tom is the author of From Here to Prosperity, a practical policy agenda for a sustainable economy and greater social justice. Tom is the former CEO of an international communications firm which operated in 100 countries and has also been student union president, founder member of SDP, journalist and broadcaster and political candidate. He attended Robert Reich’s Wealth & Poverty lectures at University of California, Berkeley and worked on the Bernie 2016 campaign. Tom has been on the national steering group for the Movement For Christian Democracy, chair of the Coalition for Economic Justice and founded The Real Agenda podcast series.
Simon Thomson
Simon is Campaign Director at TAP heading up the Tax Wealth, Not Work campaign. He was Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Manager at FareShare, a national charity fighting hunger and food waste and Head of European and International Media London & Global, People’s Vote Campaign. Simon is an award winning former BBC reporter, news editor and film maker. Simon has been Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate, South Shropshire, and for Dartford
The late Rev Paul Nicolson
Rev Paul founded Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) in 2012 as a campaigning organisation focusing on the impact on the unemployed with capped and cut benefits, which are also required to pay rent and council tax since 2013, and committed to working for an adequate income and an affordable home for every UK citizen. Rev Paul also founded the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K) in response to the poll tax in 1997. He raised the funds in 1998 to commission the Family Budget Unit to research the minimum income standards used by UNISON and London Citizens to persuade Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, to launch the Living Wage for London in 2004. Z2K now serves up to 2000 Londoners a year who are tangled in the benefit system and related debts. He was given “The Best Non-academic Award” by the Social Policy Association in 2015. In 2020, Reverend Paul Nicolson, who died in March at the age of 87, was posthumously awarded the Long-Term Achievement prize Sheila McKechnie National Campaigner Awards.
Partner with us
TAP invites like minded campaigners, advocacy groups and think tanks to partner with us to help amplify the message, that poverty can be resolved if we come together. If you would like to know more as to how partnering with TAP could work for you Email us.
To view TAP Partners click here
To increase the impact and to help fund our campaigns, TAP welcomes good companies and organisations to become involved by partnering with us on our campaigns. We are so grateful that Reverse Media Group has stepped up. If you would like to know more about how your company could benefit and also help bring change to reduce poverty and the unnecessary hardship suffered by millions very day, Email us now,