Just how much...

Does it cost UK PLC (or UK trading as…) to do it's government paperwork????

I'm a sole trader.  I am registered for VAT.  Yet the paperwork I have to go through to do tax returns, VAT returns and Intrastat returns is daft.  I don't trade in Europe - yet every quarter HMC&R send me a form to fill in on how much I have traded in Europe; the form says if you don't you do not need to send the form back, yet every quarter they send it, every quarter I have to open it, check the rules have not changed and then bin/file it.

When it comes to the tax return there are about 10 different boxes into which I have to put expenditure I have incurred as part of the business.  In the end they all get added up and are deductible. Why can I not have just 1 box?  Having to trawl through a year's accounts and identify telephony against car against something else takes far too long and is not productive.  It does not change the tax I pay so WHY????

And while I'm on the subject.  Why can I not set all my expenditure against tax?  As a sole trader if I spend £1000 on something to further my business why should I only be able to set aside £250 against this year's income for tax, and next year £187.  I've still not got that £1000.  The fact is has an asset value is of no intrinsic value to me as I cannot sell my business as it is me.