Peter Rhodes on Winston's wise words, a new sort of family and a sudden demand for accountants
New social groups of our time. In an unscripted moment Keir Starmer referred to how the cost of living affected “everyday families".
As Rachel Reeves prepares for the Budget later this year and tries to convince the nation that, for the purposes of taxation “working people” are not necessarily people who work, let us recall Churchill's words on the subject: “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” (Do not try this at home, kids).
The war rages on in Ukraine, seemingly with no solution. No diplomacy, no super-weapon seems to break the deadlock. But what if sanctions suddenly worked? What if Donald Trump, having tried stuffing Ukraine full of hi-tech weaponry, now imposed massive financial sanctions on Russia? And suppose the Russian war machine, having survived drones and shells, suddenly crumbled under a bloodless battering from the mighty dollar? Would anybody point out to Trump that his financial gambit might have been worth trying a little sooner? About a million deaths sooner?
As the years roll by you may find yourself recruiting all sorts of helpers: my plumber, my gardener, my window-cleaner. But here's one I never expected to need: my accountant. I seem to recall last year's online self-assessment for HMRC for the self-employed was challenging but manageable. This year's seems blindingly difficult with all sorts of wormholes, dodgy English and confusing bits. It may be the questions are getting harder, or maybe my brain is getting feebler. Whatever, after three false starts I bundled up the paperwork and handed it over to an accountant. Hang the expense; I cannot recall a moment of such joy and relief.
I dare say I am not alone. As the state pension rises but the tax thresholds stay the same, millions of us fiscally-dragged wrinklies will soon be obliged to fill in a tax form for the first time.
It occurs to my cynical and suspicious mind that the more confusing the online tax forms become, the more pensioners will feel the need for professional help, and the more the Exchequer will pocket from the VAT. Well done, the Department of Bamboozlement.
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