Anyone who has undergone an audit or an investigation by the tax authorities will probably have felt a degree of terror – but also a strong sense of irritation at the sheer triviality of some of the questions.

It is annoying to be interrogated at length and in detail about absurdly small sums claimed as business expenses.

As an individual, one has better things to do than try to remember how and why one spent ten pounds a couple of years ago.

As a taxpayer, and possibly a citizen, one has every right to be angry at the waste of public resources involving an official – whose total cost to the public purse per hour worked is probably quite obscene – spending disproportionate amounts of his employer’s time on tiny sums of money.

Of course, the tax man might claim that it is the principle of the thing...

...except that, in Britain at least, he cannot.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have been forced to reveal – but only after diligent investigation by a concerned citizen who can now be sure of a detailed tax inspection – that they do not bother counting small sums of money when it comes to paying their own expenses.

Instead they find it more efficient just to pay themselves generous fixed rates for overnight stays and meals when on official business, no questions asked.

They are quite right to do so. It really is cheaper to pay fixed allowances than spend time and money on the paperwork of processing each claim.

So why not let us poor taxpayers do the same?