Being charitable about tax

Alain de Botton has made a short film arguing that tax should be re-branded as charity. He feels that if people thought of where the money went they would see it more as charity than having money taken away from them.

De Botton admits that tax, if course, isn't charity. What he really wants is for HM Revenue & Customs to thank taxpayers when they send in their return. Presumably, this is how the philosopher and TV presenter does his tax. Most people in the UK have their tax deducted from their pay packets each week or month.

That doesn't mean HMRC couldn't send a note to all taxpayers explaining what their tax has been spent on. Whether a note thanking the taxpayer would make the recipient feel better is another question.