Tracey Emin - a terrible loss.

Apparently, that greatest of all artists, Tracey Emin - she of the wonderful unmade bed fame - is about to leave the country on tax grounds.

Important, nay vital, questions spring to mind! At first sight, art lovers will be grieving, of course. How shall we do without her?

Can the arts ever recover? Why should the French get hold of one of our greats?

On a serious and certainly more important note perhaps our left-leaning politicians will learn the lesson that 'higher taxes means less revenue'. It is okay if you penalise the poor sap on PAYE, of course, but the rest will do all in their powers to minimise, avoid and evade.

So, instead of the government getting 40% of Tracey's income (and in their simplistic thinking, an extra quarter over and above that) - they will get a big fat ZERO!

It was ever thus. These are lessons that should have been learned from the days of Harold Wilson's failures with Super Tax at 98p in the pound!

Today, overtaxing makes even less sense. The opportunities to put money elsewhere in the world have never been simpler; you encourage a brain drain and discourage entrepreneurship.

Purest folly.