Regulated to death

sir – Our governing elite has no idea how difficult it is to run a small business. The main enemy is regulation, which is now suffocating.

Largely because of this, I have recently closed a family company that had been in business for 49 years. Our bank borrowing was secured by personal guarantee, meaning my house. Given that 50 per cent of small businesses fail within five years, many people end up losing their homes.

We were not allowed any help under recent schemes, but the local croquet club was offered money without asking for it. This situation cannot continue. The country faces a calamity unless the Government cuts back on public-sector tyranny.

John Kirby

Holbeton, Devon

sir – I took a voluntary vow of (relative) poverty when HMRC made online payment of VAT mandatory, limiting my turnover and deregistering for VAT.

I received no financial support these past three months, but did get a clumsily worded tax demand in July. I was then told that all future correspondence and payment will be digital, rendering my financial affairs vulnerable to cyber attack. All this from people paid by my taxes, working for a Conservative Government.

So I have decided, at the age of 61, to down tools and stop contributing to a system that seems hell-bent on penalising my enterprise and industry.

Michael Heaton

Warminster, Wiltshire