Not paying tax

As asked, here is MY ways of getting past Mr Brown's many tax rises. This isn't a complete list, but I'm sure you'll get the general idea...

First, we must start with the Demon - Drink!

Being a Scotsman and a Prudent, Hard Worker - no, really. Go listen to his speaches. He maintained the tax and further increased it on alcohol, beer, wine and spirits. Despite this not being very scottish. See here.

Second, travel. Our Mr Brown, he's not very supportive of travel. You probably heard about the increases in flight taxes last budget - and how they would effect "The average family" more then they would business people or the rich. Which is true - £80 pounds more for a family holiday will hurt, when you consider that the flights are pennies. The aircraft will still fly - half empty or not - so why not flog empty tickets off at the last minute?

But no, it gets worse. He increased the fuel duty for road vehicles in 2004. He even increased the tax on red - aka farming - desiel. Yep, lets tax the farmer for not doing things the old fashioned, hardworking way - by hand. Its not like agriculture isn't dying in the UK.

Lets make the farmer pay more to cart his onions to market. Great idea.

This of course, isn't very scottish, because right now he's not in scotland. Maybe he should travel back to his constituancy, and becauses he's so anti-travel, STAY THERE.

But the rest of us had better not travel. Or buy anything made more than walking distance away - because he keeps taxing.

Thirdly....being careful.

A Prudent man takes insurance out on his car, house, perhaps his job and his health. You've all seen the adverts. Well, this Prudent Mr Brown increased the tax on this prudent insurance. In 1997 and 1999. Talk about being Mr Prudent.

And while we're on the subject, I'm not even going to touch the raid on pensions - possibly up to 100 BILLION POUNDS of prudence...taken. To balence his books, and buy another election. Note to self: don't invest in a pension. Invest elsewhere, just as much, and treat it as a pension. Harder for him to get.

Forth...and last for today.

Once upon a time, if you (or a company) invested well, made your profits and paid your taxes, you could use reinvestment relief. It allowed you to plow your profits back into the economy, making you more money and giving to the country more jobs. It helped keep investiment in the UK, going around in a virtuous cycle.

In 1998, it was...well, abolished. So you might as well just not bother reinvesting your hard work in the UK. You'd be taxed on it like everything else.

Fifth - ok, I said there was only four. I lied.

Fifth, don't be well off - or even average. Mr Brown has been very clever, increasing his tax grabs with a very crafty dodge. Every person in the UK is allowed to earn so much money a year which will never be taxed. This is your allowence (yes, more complex names for it exist. Don't go there.)

In the past, every year it was increased in line with inflation - so that the value always remained the same, year on year. Mr Brown stopped this.

Inflation is the natural tendancy of prices to increase - just like your (grand)parents told you. Things were cheaper in the past. One pound will buy less, every year. While the reverse can happen...its a really, really BAD thing.

What does this mean? Every year, as the hard working peasants and the peons earned that little bit extra to feather their nests more of their earnings would be taxed. The numbers would always look the same - I said it was crafty, didn't I? - but the percentage of tax they paid would always increase.

The hard worker could watch his earning grow in line with inflation - and be able to buy less, and less and even less.
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Seem to have lost the "saving money" part . But if a tax change allowed you to save money, wouldn't it be pointless?