While the overall net liability to the consumer is usually about the same, with a credit card one can limit the direct impact.

FORBES: How to Avoid ATM and Credit Card Scams When Traveling

More importantly though, interest accounting entries were just that, and amounts credited to operating companies as interest were immediately swept up to Sysco forming part of a rapidly growing net liability from Sysco to the companies during the tax years at issue.

FORBES: Sysco Journal Entries Not Respected by Massachusetts Tax Board

Or it might be that he is in the bottom 40 percent of income earners, those with no net income tax liability.

FORBES: Is There Such A Thing As Tax-Free?

Raymond Greaves, an analyst with Merrill Lynch, has calculated that, in March, there were around euro4 billion of net prepayments on the liability side of Alstom's balance sheet for which he cannot clearly identify liquid assets.

ECONOMIST: Alstom

The net effect of these changes is that the tax liability of everyone that currently pays tax at 40 per cent will be unaffected by the increase in the personal allowance.

BBC: Full statement: Tax changes

Today, almost half of all tax filers have no income-tax liability whatsoever, and many "taxpayers" actually get a net refund from the government.

WSJ: Peter Schiff: The Fantasy of a 91% Top Income Tax Rate