The Treasury swiftly deleted a tweet appealing for ideas about how to make business “more productive” when it didn’t like Guido’s answer: to simplify national insurance and income tax into a single unified income tax. Social media mandarins acted when they realised Guido’s reply was on its way to going viral. Tweeters were quick to welcome it:

Absolutely. Would slash accountants bills for sole traders and small firms.

My #1 reform. — Charles Orton-Jones (@CharlesOJ) 1 August 2017

It’ll never happen, NI is the Govt con that lets them return to the trough a second time — Phil Stevenson (@onlyonestevo) August 1, 2017

This is what @PhilipHammondUK should be doing instead of meddling in Brexit. Payroll & corporate tax simplification to boost competitiveness — Adhaereo Virtuti (@ChristianCkb21) August 1, 2017

Incidentally on an average £27,000 salary your payslip would show a pay rise to some £31,000, with £9,000 deducted in merged tax, a marginal rate of some 45% on taxed income. Government is all for hearing ideas for increased productivity, except when they show how overtaxed you are…