Why VAT on food and books isn't a bad thing

Why on earth shouldn't VAT be levied on food and books? Well, the argument is that VAT is a regressive tax, that the poor would suffer and that it would be unfair. Hang on a minute. Just how many books do the poor buy? Despite books of outstanding quality having been available at dirt-cheap prices for almost two decades, the net book agreement having gone by 1997, the number of books bought by the poorest in society has risen by about zero. Their shelves are filled with DVDs (VAT at 17.5%) and computer games (VAT at 17.5%).

And food, too, should be taxed. Food is so cheap that the recycling mafia is making a whole industry on the basis of the volume that we throw away. People, especially the 'poor', have grown so used to cheap, available food with no preparation that they have forgotten how to cook. I eat extremely well but very cheaply, being an enthusiastic and skilled artist in the kitchen. Lunch yesterday was a Croque Cheval and a can of beer. A slow-roasted pork belly provides dinner and sandwiches for three days. The cheapest beef shin and skirt transforms into a rich and succulent Goulash after three hours in a slow oven. And once you can make a simple roux, then every pasta sauce you care to create is yours for pence, incorporating whatever scraps and left-overs you have in the fridge. Toad-in-the-hole with crisp golden risen batter on the top and a softer, juice-soaked base is one of our great dishes, made for loose change. No, VAT on food won't be a hardship.

Even a higher rate of VAT on alcohol and tobacco won't hurt me. Tax avoidance by personal shopping elsewhere in the EU, or even home brewing and fermentation are simple.

OK, let's bring it on.