Should online shops be taxed more?

Dear Fender, I like many agree with much of what you say, but found it very funny when you lambasted the government for bailing out the banks(business), and then said we should turn governement over to business. The banks were the biggest and most successful Uk businesses and you propose they would do a better job of government! It was business that nearly caused a collapse of the global economic system, and government which rescued it. I bet you have some 'good' businessmen in mind to run the economy like yourself pehaps? More likey it would be Sir Goodwin. Goevernment is not a business though they could no doubt benefit from applying some of the same principles. I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I thought people spending was a problem. My issue is that successive governements have reduced taxation, reduced their income, instead of collecting more when times were good and having less debt when times are bad. At some point this inbalance in the budget will have to be addressed.

@basia02a The problem in the uk is not that we the public spending more, it is the government who spend like there is no tomorrow on anything and everything from bailing out the banks half of which, should of been left to go bust or poking its nose into affairs round the world that end up costing us billions. The government spent and waste like this because they know via the back door, they can carry on taxing us the public to death. Look at anyone of the hundreds of taxes imposed without real consent on the public, then compare how what is collected in each tax is actually spend for example road tax against road repairs. If they start milking internet sellers which is where this started. Then internet selling like where retail started, ( the high street ) will end up taxed to death and eventually killed off. Instead we need is a completely new approach and one England. We need ex business people running the government instead of the current university graduates and lords back hander hunters ( as per this week press). Most of what we have have little or no real life experience, so keep making one mistake after another with yet another lesson to be learn't that, soon always gets forgotten about because the tax payer will be forced to pick up the bill. Remember the 100m or so west coast virgin fiasco all underwritten by the tax payer. Do you remember being asked if you minded underwriting that fiasco? I certainly don't! It was just taken for granted.

slightly off message - everywhere people lambast the governemnt for taxing things. As an inheritance from Maggie we see income tax as sacrosant. The problem in the UK is that we spend a lot lot more then we collect in taxes. We have got to put taxes up once the economy kicks off. Maggie used to put income tax and VAT up, until the year before an election when she cut it. Consecutive governments have cut corporation tax, and yet we still can't even collect this as companies go abroad to avoid it.