But Cape, what's the difference between this and any other tax ? It wouldn't make any difference to me ideologically if they taxed cabbages or tea: the total take ( from me and for the country ) seem to be the only relevant issues. I see of course that this (out-of-date ) article mentions the political slant to the tax, but all taxes tend to have signifcantly greater effects on particular groups such as drivers, families, drinkers, smokers etc .