Reduce The Red-Tape Burden On Business

This week has seen the medical lobby start calling for a 20p tax levied on sugary drinks to be included in the UK's next budget. While the rationale behind the call can't be ignored (sugary soft drinks don't make any sense for those with no self-will) its introduction would add another piece of administrative burden on businesses already struggling in the recession. It wasn't that long ago that a leading government Minister was advocating one piece of legislation being dropped for each new one coming in to reduce red-tape burden on business. That seems to have been forgotten, it's all gone very quiet on that front. 

Now there is no guarantee that this will make it into the budget but we are getting into the season when specialist lobby groups will start putting forward their well meaning agendas. When politicians seem to do so much to pander to public opinion there is every chance that some of these will come into being. What a shame it would be if this were to happen. Oh yes, there's the cost in implementing it within government too and within HMRC. That never gets taken into account. And we thought that government spending was to be coming down. Same old same old I guess.