Massive yacht?
As the idea of the replacing the Queens 44 year old yacht as a present for her diamond jubilee seems to continue to be a matter of debate amongst my friends I find myself wondering a few things. The...
View ArticleA green revolution?
A recent post by Fausty reminded me that I’d written this a while back, so… enjoy. As many people have observed one of the best ways for an individual to very quietly combat the creeping power of the...
View ArticleBack on the booze
Well to be fair I’ve not been off the booze, but I am I’m afraid going to go on about the increasing anti-drink agenda. I begin to sympathise with stuck records the world over. They are as Leg Iron has...
View ArticleTaxes…how much?!
What with various incidents in the news and my upcoming annual bonus (strictly performance related) I’ve been thinking about tax of late. This is normally something I avoid thinking about as the...
View ArticleAll about the fuel
I imagine this is old news and I am in fact way behind the curve as usual, but it’s amazing what you can discover when browsing Homebrew sites*. On the day that wind power being a bit crap starts...
View ArticleWhy not Ken?
Just for a change I shall start things off with a statement of bias, I don’t like Ken Livingstone much (from what I know of him), think he was a poor Mayor and really don’t want him back in any sort of...
View ArticleBan that sort of thing
I keep trying to find time to write an article about the latest moves from the new puritans and their ongoing attempts to ban anything they consider immoral, or that any of the rest of us consider fun....
View ArticleThe British tax system hate it or hate it
Thanks to other people posting things to the book of faces I stumbled across two rather differing views of the problems with the UK tax system. One from the Gaurdian that puts the blame largely on...
View ArticleThat time of year again
I’m on the last page of my calendar and so it dawns on me that we’re at that time of year again, when smug adverts from the government will have “friendly” cartoon chaps or amusing eccentric types...
View ArticleMaroon
In the words of the great philosopher Bugs Bunny it would seem that Richard Murphy is an utter maroon, for he has just tweeted: “Where did this absurd myth that the gov’ts money is “ours” come from?...
View ArticleA- for George
Many people far more knowledgeable than me have commented on the recent downgrading of the UK’s credit rating from AAA to AA1 – this however is not going to stop me adding my tuppenth worth. It’s just...
View ArticleHiding the decline
Sorry if I’ve misled you but I’m afraid I’m not talking about climate change, but about the equally false problem with alcohol consumption. As Leg Iron and others often observe the puritans and...
View ArticleDrinkuary: Raining on the parade
This article was first posted on Drinkuary. Rejoice be glad the beer duty escalator has stopped and beer duty has been dropped by a penny!! Big whoop and it’s not even true despite the headlines. I...
View ArticleTaxation and organ snatching
I’m not going to say anything new at all in this post, which won’t come as much of a shock to anyone who’s read much of what I write here. But recent news has given me an excuse to pull a few things...
View ArticleEveryday tax avoidance
So once more tax is in the news and the world and their dog seems to up in arms about people “avoiding” tax. Tax avoidance seems to currently be the fashionable thing to hate and who cares about the...
View ArticleTax avoidance the carol
As yet another firm gets into trouble in social media for obeying the law and only paying the tax they were required to, time to bang the tax avoidance drum again in the form of a little ditty – and...
View ArticleDiscover this crazy life hack to cheat the bedroom tax
The introduction of the “Bed Room Tax”* by the Government in 2013 left many people worse off, facing the prospect of having to move out of their home into non-existent smaller accommodation with all...
View ArticleRegistering with the Raw Tobacco Scheme
Following on from yesterdays article about how the HMRC have taken leave of their senses, today as a dutiful and law abiding citizen and gardener I sent off my application to register with the Raw...
View ArticleRegistering with the Raw Tobacco Scheme II
A little while back the HMRC introduced the Raw Tobacco Scheme, and I as a keen gardener and law abiding citizen duly applied to register with them. Today a charming lady from HMRC gave me a call to...
View ArticleRegistering with the Raw Tobacco Scheme – Revisted
Long term readers here may recall that a while back I registered with the HMRC for their raw tobacco scheme as I sometimes grow the stuff for various purposes, mainly wine making, and of course because...
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