Ok so...so far we are talking a tax on TV's, a road tax, the VAT and a council tax...and of course though it is a "seperate issue"; there is the NI tax...are there any other taxes?

I still say after comparing prices between Sainsbury's, Asda, Asda's parent company Walmart here in the US; (actually going into a Walmart I mean); and our home town grocery store plus grocery stores online; that the costs mostly balance out...

Restaurants on the other hand; like renting; depend on where you live; here in this country I mean; cannot even claim to know about Britain...For example; in the small town I live in; it is possible for three people to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on what you are in the mood for; for under $25/£12.50, but if you were to go to larger cities; you would be lucky to eat for $40/£20 per person...Clothing and accomodations like over there; depend on where you go to shop as well...
For example...

You have what seems to be a very nice bed and breakfast in Ealing that we will be staying at called At Home, and we are getting an excellent rate for two weeks of staying...In fact we've already paid in full because of the inexpensive rate... We needed both a double for ourselves and a single for our son; and as you might be able to see should you check out their web site; you can get both for a grand total of £110/$220 per night...but I will grant you that the other more well known hotels there might be a bit more expensive especially the closer to areas like Picadilly Circus you get...However we too have that problem but a bit in reverse...as some from your country may have said...some of our regular hotels HERE can be a bit cheaper, BUT our B&B's you would be lucky to get a single room for under $225/£112.50 per night in some of our quieter cities...BIGGER cities like Chicago or Boston won't have a decent B&B for under $325-$500; (£162.50-£250) per night...and forget hotels in downtown areas of cities like Chicago, Boston, NY City and Los Angeles...

Clothing: If you do most of your shopping in a store like Walmart then you can most definitely get a decent pair of jeans at a normal minimum price of $10/£5 a pair, and it is possible to get inexpensive shoes there too though the quality might not last long if you consider what some do to their own shoes...but we have department stores and boutiques that can be just as expensive as even Harrod's costing as much as $300/£150 or more for a single pair of "cheap" sneakers...

When it comes to the taxes; here in this country we have businesses like H&R Block where the sole goal of the people working there is to help people like me who are affraid or too busy to work on our own taxes...for a fee they do your taxes for you while you are in their office...they also e-file them for you as well so you can get your tax return (recovery) check; if you are due one; direct deposited into your checking account. If you are not due one, but instead owe; they will provide you with the means to pay... Are there businesses like that in the UK, or is it just a matter of hiring an accountant?