Ian Scott, 52, a senior manager with a transport company from Halesowen in the West Midlands, did not need to be told that Britain’s tax burden was going up sharply.

“I’m fed up with taxes,” he said. “Income tax, inheritance tax, car tax, fuel tax, stamp duty. They come at you from all sides. With five children I was looking to move to a bigger house round the corner, but just to move would have cost around £20,000, which is ridiculous. It’s dead money.

“I’ve been with my company for nearly 10 years and I think I’m being penalised for having a bit of success. That’s my main bugbear. When I tell my wife, if I do get a bonus, how much goes to tax, she’s gobsmacked. We have a little joke with the kids that because of inheritance tax we’re just going to spend it.”

Under Gordon Brown’s management the tax burden is rising sharply. A report last week from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the share of national income taken in taxes is rising more sharply than anywhere else in Europe. It now stands at 37% of gross domestic product (GDP).

There is apparently no alternative. A commission appointed by the Conservatives will report this week and recommend significant tax cuts, but its findings are set to be rejected by David Cameron, the Tory leader.

This is despite the fact that according to calculations by the accountants Grant Thornton, many middle-class households can expect to see half their income disappear in taxes, either when they earn it or when they spend it.

Julia Hayward, 29, a project manager from Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, is also reeling under the impact of high taxes. “I do think I pay too much tax because I’m single and I’m fully self-sufficient,” she said. “What annoys me is that the people out of work are better off than many who are in work.

“It’s extortionate. I’m a homeowner so I’m paying council tax, income tax, road tax; anything I buy I’m being taxed on. If I die, the government will extract 40% of my money from me, money I’ve already paid tax on. I’m being taxed for being intelligent and earning a decent wage.”

Some of Britain’s biggest companies do not need reminding either that Britain has become a high-tax country. HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, has let it be known that it is considering moving its headquarters elsewhere.

Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Current corporation tax levels are unsustainable. Either companies will relocate or corporate taxes will have to come down. Changes will be required.”

Last weekend Gordon Brown was at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature telling the audience about his favourite authors, who include Jean-Paul Sartre, George Orwell, Albert Camus and John Osborne. On Tuesday he was laying out his strategy on terrorism and national security at an event organised by Chatham House, the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Later in the week he delivered a lecture in Glasgow on tackling under-achievement among boys at school. Along the way he gave his view on whether or not Muslim women should wear a veil: “I think the veil is a way of taking power away from women.”

It is all part of what is unofficially called “Project Gordon” in Labour party circles. The aim is to show that Tony Blair’s probable successor is interesting and engaged on a wide range of subjects.

More mundane matters, however, have a habit of intervening. In the middle of what some Treasury officials dub Brown’s “off piste” activities came an unwelcome reminder of the consequences of the decisions he has taken in his day job at the Treasury.

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