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I loved the idea that the Bath Assembly rooms proposed for fundraising. Visitors who see the chandeliers in the property are apparently fond of quoting from the famous scene in Only Fools and Horses where the Trotters accidentally release the wrong chandelier and send it crashing to the ground: ‘Brace yourself Rodney!’. The suggestion is that visitors should pay a voluntary ‘tax’ if they mention the scene, with the amount raised going towards the cost of maintenance of the chandeliers. A tap to donate point has even been set up to make it easy to donate. The publicity it has got from the idea will surely bring in extra visitors who will want to say that they have paid the ‘Del boy tax’. Perhaps the Treasury could outsource devising future taxes to the National Trust – that could produce some interesting ideas.
Voluntary payment of ‘tax’ is actually possible (see tinyurl.com/hmtvolpay). The amounts received are recorded in the accounts of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. 2023-24 was a bumper year with donations and bequests of almost £700,000 compared with only £47,000 in the previous year. Given that the national debt is currently over £3trn (you can see the way it increases second by second at this rather alarming website – www.nationaldebtclock.co.uk), it might be some time before voluntary contributions have any impact.
The story of an earlier attempt to set up a fund to pay off the debt is fascinating. It was the subject of several court decisions, culminating in the Court of Appeal judgment Zedra Fiduciary Services (UK) Ltd v HM Attorney General (tinyurl.com/zedrafidca2023). If you have time, this is an interesting read.
If you do one thing…
See HMRC’s new advice on preparing for the top up taxes – tinyurl.com/hmrcmttdttgui.
