Taxes, taxes, taxes

Before we look at some of this weekend's wheezes for new taxes, let's see where some of our money is going.

I have blogged before on over-regulation. The Better Regulation Commission warns government to be wary of knee-jerk reactions to hard cases. One instance is highlighted by the Manifesto Club in today's Telegraph. "A new law passed last Monday ... will make it a crime for unchecked adults to work or volunteer with children, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000." Once you are cleared, the writer adds, "there are then 100-page child protection booklets to read for guidelines".

It all costs money.

It's also reported that speed camera fines are being used to buy plasma TVs and t-shirts.

Avon, Somerset and Gloucestershire safety camera partnership spent £326,400 on publicity, £81,700 on accommodation, and just under £500,000 on administration.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight spent £86,524 on publicity and appointed a public relations officer, while Cheshire spent £50,000 on refurbishment. Warwickshire spent more than £500,000 on processing costs, £105,450 on management and administration, and £116,693 on communications. Essex ran up an £8,855 bill for photocopying, spent £9,052 on smartboards and £7,495 on a plasma screen and miscellaneous software. Derbyshire budgeted £15,000 for "promotional items" and £250 for staff T-shirts.

The figures also show huge differences in average running costs and profits of cameras in each area. In Hertfordshire, a camera costs £73,167 to maintain and makes a profit of £113,334, while in Lancashire the equivalent figures are £8,972 and £12,615.

A text book example of public sector costs expanding with no checks. The telegraph adds that

The Government has presided over the introduction of about 7,000 cameras which caught nearly two million motorists last year, raising £120 million in fines. Traffic police have been cut by 11 per cent in the same period.

Channel 4's Despatches showed how road mending contractors try to rip off Devon council, and claimed that other councils don't employ anyone to do the checks that Devon makes. So how much are other authorities being ripped off? (Incidentally, the name of Balfour Beatty seemed to come up rather a lot.)

No wonder our taxes have to keep rising to pay for our bloated public sector - whether it's Devon Council running a monopoly on selling seats (expensively, of course), or the woeful and anti-democratic Standards Board, chaired by Sir Anthony Holland may his name live in infamy.

But never fear, you public sector pipsqueaks with your fat pensions, you should be well provided for. The talk now is of green taxes to come - for our own good, of course.

Politicians love talk of green taxes because it gives them a new toy to play with, a whole new field for regulation and legislation and telling us what to do. The public hasn't tumbled yet to what behavioural changes this new faith based zeal may require of us.

Not that this new hair-shirt-we're-holier-than-the-rest-of-you-do-as-we-say-at-your-expense preaching backed by sanctions will do the world any good.

It is extraordinary to consider that if every light in Britain were turned off for good and every gas-guzzling suburban citizen decided to live like Swampy, all the eco-slack would have been picked up by China in 13 months.

But there's always council tax, where Labour shows signs of intending to bleed the property owning classes to further its cherished expansion of the state.

And where is the opposition to this?