Registering with the Raw Tobacco Scheme – Revisted

Long term readers here may recall that a while back I registered with the HMRC for their raw tobacco scheme as I sometimes grow the stuff for various purposes, mainly wine making, and of course because the regulations are insane. Well as it’s a new year I received a letter asking me to let them know if “Raw Tobacco approval” was still required, which was all quite expected. As the decorative varieties didn’t take that well and the smokable varieties are getting out competed by the cobb nut trees and grape vines I’m not bothering this year, though maybe next … Continue reading

Labours Magic Money Tree

This alleged proof of Labours sense just convinces me they are actually as mad as a box of frogs. Ignoring that a “fat cat” tax is to my mind immoral, and that reducing inheritance tax isn’t a give away it’s letting people do what they like with their own money – unless you think that everything you own belongs to the state at the moment of your death. Charging VAT on private schools is also daft as people going to private schools are still paying in taxation for state schools they’re not using, the more people that pay for private … Continue reading

Registering with the Raw Tobacco Scheme II

A little while back the HMRC introduced the Raw Tobacco Scheme, and I as a keen gardener and law abiding citizen duly applied to register with them. Today a charming lady from HMRC gave me a call to discuss my application , despite my saying all communication in writing please but I forgive them. The call mainly went over my application, why was I registering and such. Having established that I was registering purely as a gardener they wanted to know how many plants I have growing and how many of the annual variety I was planning to plant. When … Continue reading