After I stopped working as a journalist and became a social worker, I continued doing a little work on a commissioned basis. No secrecy about it, all declared.

But the amount I was getting from this was so low, some official decided it couldn't be right, so one Christmas Eve I got a tax demand for them based on an estimate of my earnings they had come up with, which was way way above what I'd been making.

One way and another I was able to convince them of the truth, and they withdrew the demand - the point of the estimate was to scare me, just in case I was underestimating.

So the moral is, if you are earning anything, and declaring this source of income, don't try underestimating the real figures and thinking they'll accept a low figure.

Meanwhile the people with the real money are getting away with murder, thanks to bent accountants and bent laws.

There's an old saying "It's the poor as helps the poor", and that's true, as anyone who has tried collecting for charities knows too well; but the true saying that should go with that is "It's the poor as helps the rich help themselves".