The current wave of panic (short of a swine flu pandemic…), is that we are about to be hit by a 2.5% increase in VAT and the doom-and-gloom merchants (that’s the mainstream media to you), are out in force pressing home how much the VAT rise will cause the poor to lose.

The Telegraph, quick out of the blocks reckon £158 extra a year (£14 rounded up a month) and they set off the scaremongering with the fact that people will cut back on their food to subsidize their luxury goods (broadband, sky, mobile phones etc).

I think there is something wrong with society that they will think about a shiny iPhone contract ahead of the food on their child’s plate.

I looked at my shopping bill for last week and the week before, the VAT I paid for a weeks shopping for my family came to £1.10 (for the Christmas week shop) and the 78p for the week before.  I know this because where I shop (Booth’s), they tell you what is taxed and what isn’t (after you’ve bought it of course).

I do like my fresh orange juice (VAT Rated), that is the only item on my weekly shop that is taxed (I could buy oranges and squeeze them myself but it’s not cost efficient).

Avoiding tax on your weekly shop is easy.  STOP BUYING READY MEALS, STOP BUYING CRISPS, STOP BUYING CHOCOLATE.  Processed foods attract tax, make things from scratch for yourself and you’ll find that your weekly shopping bill is taxed less.

The VAT going up is nothing compared to the hikes that rail users are incurring and road users are incurring on their fuel bills.

Less tax, less state interference will help everyone.