Sam Brodbeck

2 weeks ago | aol.co.uk | Sam Brodbeck

In Britain today it’s hard to find many things that aren’t broken. Even M&S has gone off the rails, leaving a million shopping baskets full of pants and socks yet unable to be purchased. But the tax system takes the crown. There are many absurdities in the ways the state relieves us of our income but there can be none more stupid, more anti-growth than the many random “marginal” rates of income tax that actively penalise a pay rise.

2 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Sam Brodbeck

Using your pension to dodge income tax isn't without personal sacrifice, of course. It entails tying up money for years, perhaps decades, with no certainty over what the tax system will look like when you do finally draw the money out. While that money is likely to be invested in stocks and bonds, there is no guarantee that British companies will be the recipients. And, as one reader pointed out, money going into a pension is not being spent in the economy.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Sam Brodbeck

Is your council unfairly charging motorists? We want to hear from you. Email [email protected] our street the sight of the postman is greeted with jubilation, such is the irregularity of his visits. But in our house the postie’s arrival induces panic: has my wife received another penalty charge notice from the council? There goes another £35, or £70 if we forget to pay within a fortnight.

3 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Sam Brodbeck

On top of permits for our own cars and our guests, we find ourselves paying ever-rising fines for often very minor infringements. A couple of years ago my council opened a new "bus gate" and it caught out 38,500 drivers in one year alone. That one street generated £1.5m in fines. Is a £35 or £70 fine really appropriate for mistakenly going down a road that is perhaps 200m long? Of course not.

4 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Sam Brodbeck

That's true, but it is also true that the cost of childcare has risen far above wages at the same time as house prices and rent have soared. And the tax burden is at its highest since the end of the Second World War. As working from home becomes more deeply embedded into our work culture, the incentive to reverse it becomes weaker. So many people are now benefiting from being able to do 3pm pick-ups before coasting to 5pm at half speed that it would take a monumental effort to stop it.