John Pennington, President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, writes about the burden of taxation.

Been spanked lately? Now I've got your attention let me credit the above statement to a passenger on a London-bound train with whom I struck up conversation.

The fellow in question is a manufacturer - yes, there are a few left - who is finding his business seriously handicapped because he runs it legitimately, even paying above the minimum wage.

I refer of course to the huge black economy that exists in this country today. Being accountable and accessible, he is burdened with almost daily Inland Revenue inquiries about legitimate staff, fed-up with filling in forms he is almost at his wits end, he is not alone.

In my own business I have lost staff through being correct after time spent with induction training and costly uniform provision, along comes the first wage packet.

Not a celebration as you might expect, but horror.

Tax and NI deductions make a person accountable or even exist, the result leaves me with one less member of staff, and so the merry go-round continues. Payments and deductions correctly recorded must be held somewhere on computer by Big Brother, it is simpler and cheaper to get one of we minions to do the job instead of looking himself.

Frankly some people are too well off to work legitimately, is it not time for the Revenue/DSS to strengthen their efforts to track down the people they do not know about, before we all go mad. My sympathetic ear and reassurance that my new acquaintance is most definitely not on his own, and the excellent service provided by GNER to our area transformed an otherwise dull day.

Another major burden is the business rate which seems to have an annual increase of twice and thrice the rate of inflation without recourse.

In an environment where businesses are cutting costs in order to quote a lower price this year than last for the same product in the hope of maintaining sales the words 'good housekeeping' spring to mind.

To run local authorities and government on a business footing may be no bad thing, it may even produce a nil rate increase sometime and may even make them feel a little more wanted.