Britain's taxman has come under fire this week for not only potentially being granted the power to "raid" accounts but also for helping the government "inflate" how much tax Whitehall has recovered by using never-before-used accountancy methods.

Although the HMRC told IBTimes UK that claims that the taxman would be able to siphon cash from ordinary Britons' bank accounts is "disproportionate and absurd", the proposed law actually allows them to take over £1000 out of accounts without a court order.

However, while a number of other countries already have this measure, expats have told us why it's a terrible idea.