Bless the Inland Revenue

Now there's a phrase you don't expect to hear to often.

The Inland Revenue, or Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to give them their official name, have the kind of reputation that any organisation gets after taking money out of citizen's pockets since 1665 – not an advertising slogan I think they'll be considering any time soon.

Sometimes that reputation is justified but generally they are just like any other government department – slow, bureaucratic and seldom prone to admitting mistakes. Yet taxes are the price we pay for a civilised society and pay them we must.

I was concerned I was going to get hit with all kinds of costs in deferred tax etc, so much so I'd be living in a barrel when I got back from the US. Amazingly enough however they not only have a helpline, but it works and seems to give good advice.

So as it turns out the rules on National Insurance (NI) contributions have changed recently. Previously you had to show 44 years of NI payments to get a full pension. Now it seems you only have to do 30 – and I've already worked 17 of those. So taking a year's holiday shouldn't be too bad one would hope.

But I have to say I'm still feeling there's something I'm missing on this one. So if you see a surprisingly neat man with a sign saying "Will work for food or books" in a year's time you'll know that maybe HMRC isn't all its cracked up to be.