What's that old saying: nothing is certain but death and taxes?

Thinking about the government's budget presented each June I could not remember one year in recent decades that did not include increased taxes or fees. I stand to be corrected and would like to know if there was ever a year since independence that there were absolutely no tax/fee rises.

What caused me to head down this never ending road was someone mentioned to me that professionals do not pay anymore taxes than the man on the street.

I suggested this was not so as the man on the street might buy a 36 inch TV and the professionals would buy one with a 60 or 70 inch screen.

His rejoinder was he meant he paid no taxes on his services and VAT would even that score.

Of course this is the diversionary language the political class would like us to swallow, but I asked him to think about that a little more.

Who will pay the VAT? The clients will pay the VAT and then this will be passed on to the government.

In other words those "dastardly" professionals will not be paying more business taxes. People that do business with them will pay.

Of course when they have their 60 inch flat screen serviced, they'll pay VAT on that bill, but we'll be paying it for services we buy as well.

Beware the government rhetoric on VAT. Class envy will not solve the government spending habit and that's where the problem of fiscal and tax policy changes begins and should end.

Government needs to reign itself in, not become a bigger burden for taxpayers.

So we can rest assured that we will all die at some point, and it looks like government is set to take a pound or two of flesh in taxes before we do.