A taxing business.....

On the opposite side of the canal from where I took yesterday's photo, you find this building. It is the next-door neighbour to Saltaire's New Mill - with only a large car park in between them. It's much more modern in style than anything else in the area, though it doesn't sit too badly within its locale in my opinion, as it nestles fairly low down on the riverbank.

Anyway, what the building lacks in charm it makes up for in importance...because this, folks, is where all your hard-earned cash ends up, at least if you are a UK taxpayer. It is the government's (HM Revenue & Customs) main banking centre for the whole of the UK. All the tax and VAT paid by individuals and businesses comes here to be processed and banked. It has a highly-automated system for opening envelopes, scanning, photographing and sorting cheques, VAT forms and correspondence and then making sure the money goes to the right places.

I don't suppose many of us actually like paying taxes - but without this centre, hospitals would grind to a halt, teachers wouldn't be paid and civilisation as we know it may well crumble...So keep on smiling and paying up!