AN OUTSIDE VIEW

Since the beginning of the year, problems with the tax system have been continually in the news.There have been the row over non-domiciles - still not finally resolved; the Lichtenstein tax avoidance affair; the Capital Gains Tax changes and partial retreat; proposed changes in the taxation of profits earned by UK business overseas; relocation of companies to countries with more favourable tax regimes; the threat and partial abandonment of a bin tax; the now widespread realisation of the extent to which fuel prices are inflated by taxation as prices of crude oil go up; and the expectation of significant general inflation, which is effectively a tax on people with sterling balances since it reduces government debt in real terms. At the same time, there seems to be no limit in the growth of expectations of what government should provide: pensions and care of the elderly; food security; fuel affordability as prices rise; and the continuation, in changing circumstances, of public services ...