I read an article in a Sunday newspaper entitled ‘Self-employed? Make extra money from the VAT rise’. I am perplexed because, while I understand that in the current economic climate it is good to have incentives for smaller businesses, this incentive appears to be, prima facie, dishonest.

From my perspective as a lawyer, I do not understand how our profession can tolerate a scheme that encourages us to profit from clients by making a charge for tax that is not payable. To draw an analogy with the recent parliamentary expenses scandal, I would comment: ‘Just because something is permitted or allowed, that does not make it right.’

I do not wish to put lawyers on a ‘high horse’; this must be true for other professions as well. For example, how does this approach work under one of the fundamental principles of the Financial Services Authority, namely ‘treating customers fairly’?Trust me, I am a lawyer (but I will secretly charge you an extra 5.5%).

David Kenyon-Vaughan, Canterbury