A large VAT...and one for yourself

Theresa May has intervened personally to save the one and two pence coins, which Philip hammond suggested could be scrapped.

Clearly, there were concerns that inevitable ‘rounding up’ would lead to higher prices, and charities could be left worse off without the loose change people put in collection boxes.

But I’m with spreadsheet Phil on the penny and 2p coins. They’re more trouble than they’re worth.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been left with a pocketful of shrapnel after breaking into a note for a coffee, a pint or a newspaper.

Far more worrying is the idea that hammond wants to lower the VaT threshold from £85,000 to £25,000 and make us all produce receipts for cash payments.

small businesses don’t need any more bureaucracy. They shouldn’t have to act as unpaid tax collectors.

and while I’m not advocating paying huge bills in cash to avoid VaT, insisting on a receipt for a few quid is outrageous.

small cash transactions are what make the world go round. Tipping a cabbie, or your hairdresser, or telling the barman to take a drink for himself is good manners, not tax evasion.

I don’t feel properly dressed unless I’ve got cash in my pocket, for precisely that kind of purpose. anyway, we’ve already paid tax on it once.

This was a stupid idea when Labour’s ed Balls came up with it, and it’s a stupid idea coming from a Tory Chancellor now.

Go after the multi-national tech firms for dodging taxes, by all means. But leave Britain’s babysitters, barmen and burger van owners alone.