Reflections from the fourth plinth

Simon Sweetman reflects on his recent experience of being chosen to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of sculptor Antony Gormley’s living monument, One & Other*.

I’ve only just gotten to thinking about what I did on the plinth. Should I have gone up there and raised burning tax issues? Should I have shouted for the repeal of the IR35 legislation, or for a cut in the small companies rate of CT? Should I have appealed for the full taxation of the non-domiciled, or for flat taxes for a flat earth?

There is of course the practical point that at 6am on a Saturday, the actual audience (whether live in the square or glued to the webstream) is probably not very large. To be truthful, I knew nearly all of the people in the square, so the actual impact would have been small.

In any case, it never seriously crossed my mind – partly because I didn’t think it was about campaigning (and if it had been, I don’t suppose tax would have been top of my list), and partly because I don’t seem to start spontaneously thinking about tax when I’m not actually working.

So, am I serious about tax? When I’m working, yes I am. I’m trying to do the best for a client. If I’m involved in talking to HMRC or with the FSB, I can be clear about my attitude to particular taxes; but tax is not my life – it’s the way I’ve earned my living for 35 years (and of course I stumbled into it by accident).

I have, in my time, met people who said ‘from the time I was six, I wanted to be a chartered accountant’. All of them succeeded in their ambition. Does this tell us something, or does it merely serve to add strength to my view that history – whether world history or that of an individual – consists very largely of the unintended consequences of actions undertaken for another reason completely, or even just of accidents?

The same might be said of tax legislation. Recent surveys have tended to show that many people (including small businesses) would rather stick with the devil they know than be offered tax savings which involve change and complexity. Perhaps they are wiser here than the professionals.

* For those unfamiliar with the exhibit, Gormley has invited members of the public to appear on the plinth between 6 July and 14 October this year. Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, different people from all over the UK will make the plinth their own. Volunteers are chosen at random and participants can do whatever they want up there, provided it’s legal. Simon appeared on Saturday 25 July from 6 – 7am. You can watch his time on the plinth online at http://www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/Simon_S.