Retail chain bosses have this week been stamping their feet about the recent cut in the rate of VAT.
The chief executive of supermarket giant Sainsbury's, Justin King, for instance, manfully described the 2.5% reduction as an 'annoyance'.
One feels nought but sympathy for the beleaguered Mr King, who lives near Leamington Spa and has £1m or so forced upon him every year by his harassed employer, which suffered record sales of more than £140m in a single day last month and yesterday announced that it is having to create around 4,000 new jobs as a result of – sigh! –continuous fiscal success.

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