As regular readers (both of you) may have noticed, I’m all for things that stop tax being taken by the state. On the oft-stated principle that it’s not fucking theirs. And that the less money they have, the less money they can waste.

Which is why I’m less than gutted to see this.

The UK Treasury is facing a £3.5m bill, because of VAT wrongly imposed on a Marks and Spencer teacake, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

Customers paid VAT for 20 years before the authorities accepted the product was a cake, which does not command VAT.

Obviously, my glee is tempered by the way in which the government stole this money for so long. But, still, better late than never.

And then the government decides to be bloodyminded about their theft.

The UK argued that paying back the total sum would “unjustly enrich” M&S as customers had paid the money.

Fuck that. If someone is found guilty of theft, the proceeds of that theft should be taken from them. It often doesn’t make it as far as being returned to those from whom it was stolen, but the important thing is that the thief is deprived of it.

Unlawfully taking this money is theft. Thusly the government should be deprived of the full proceeds of that theft, interest included. I really don’t give a shit who gets it, as long as the government doesn’t…