We have all read recently about the tax windfall enjoyed by the taxman. It should be put to good use in two ways. Firstly, annuity payments should be made tax-free. The insurance companies making these payments have already been taxed and the fact that these payments are taxed in the hands of the recipients amounts to double taxation.
Secondly, the Vat threshold should be raised. Small businesses and one-person professional practices can't afford the time and complications of dealing with multiple returns and forms required by bureaucracies. These take up valuable working time or, alternatively, impose a need to employ additional staff or bookkeeping and accounting services that might otherwise not be required.
