Englishman Mike Oldfield, who wrote and played the popular Tubular Bells album (popular until it became background in the movie, The Exorcist, anyway), is among those who've bunched it. He lives in the Bahamas, now. He made a million pounds from the album, but the tax bill came to 860,000 pounds. It takes a lot of other peoples' money to run a nanny state.
But they're thinking about some changes, over there in the U.K.
"Public bodies" there have some 1,400 "powers" - or pretexts under which they may enter a private home. They can enter your yard to check the height of your hedge, which if too tall would place you in violation of the Antisocial Behavior Act (the ticket for that is referred to as an Asbo). They can also enter your home to ensure that your fridge is energy-efficient, and to check your house-plants for pests.
However, some 15 such "powers" have recently been removed; they may no longer enter your home to search for German enemy property, for example. I say, old chap - have you a license for that telly receiver?
