While I rather like Stefan Töpfer's SME Blog, I take issue with this piece about the ongoing Royal Mail strike.

Stefan is usually a well-reasoned, sensible voice in the UK business arena, which is why comments like "getting back to the bad old days" and "incompetence, selfishness and outright disregard for the public’s needs" have surprised me.

Yeah, it's frustrating and yes, it has cost my own company and thousands of other SMEs money.

But surely we have moved on from the outmoded idea that people going on strike are - to use that old Tory cliche - "holding the country to ransom".

These days strikes are comparitively rare and are a last resort. A 2.5% pay off and the potential loss of 40,000 jobs is a serious issue for Royal Mail workers and I for one can understand why they've felt the need to take this action.

When faced with management that are refusing even to see that their employees may have a point, there are very few options available.

Of course strikes do inconvenience both businesses and individuals, but let's at least look at the issues rather than condemning everyone outright.

A pre-budget report from Chancellor Alistair Darling has indicated that he aims to simplify the business tax system. More than 20 measures have been tabled, including improvements to self-assessment, payroll and stamp duty land tax.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation has welcomed the move but is this really likely to simplify what anyone with any sense would agree is an over-complicated system.

John Cullinane of The Chartered Institute of Taxation adds a cautionary note to his comments when he said "it will take sustained effort, for a long time, to simplify it [the business tax system]. More consultation prior to major changes would help build support for this."

Without proper consultation - and that does seem to be the case here - there is the danger that rather than simplifying things, Darling will add another level of complexity to an already creaking system.

While I, for one, would definitely like to see a straightforward, easy to understand and easy to operate business tax system, I suspect that this is not likely to be the outcome here.