@PJM
I genuinely don't understand the obsession with "stealth taxes", whatever they are.

In the first place, this wouldn't be a tax. In the second, even if it were, governments aren't profit-making institutions; HMRC officials aren't paid by commission. Whatever taxes a government makes get spent. If those taxes are well spent - the definition of which is moot at the moment - then I don't see the problem.

I do see a problem with an "all tax is bad" mantra, just because it panders to an illusory social atomism and a mistaken belief that low taxes are good for society as a whole. That latter belief is simply not true. Think of it this way - where would you rather be poor: Norway or New Hampshire? Moreover, the social atomism - the individualism of the first belief - is also highly shaky. (People who evade tax and take no responsibility for those around them (or those who aren't part of a chosen social group such as a gang or immediate family) are not generally thought of as heroes - but that's the implication of social atomism as far as I can see.)

EDIT AND UPDATE:
it's almost as if they've either given up on trying to win any popular support or if they're absolutely deaf to the opinions of 90% of the voting public.
Precisely the wrong way round. The problem is that elected governments have to pander to the general public. Unfortunately, the general public is incapable of exercising the responsibility of choosing for anything more than the most blockheaded of reasons. The general public is simply not up to the job.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 17 Mar 2009, 10:32, Reply)