The fiscal fur only stopped flying for a brief moment while the new coalition government indulged in some hearty backslapping, but its now back to business.

With a start out of the blocks worthy of Usain Bolt ( whether he performs in the UK without the taxman taking a chunk of his worldwide earnings is another matter), the government has unveiled a raft of consultations on the most pressing tax issues of the day.

The consultations which include unresolved wrangles over controlled foreign companies, PAYE, and pensions tax reliefs are set to keep HMRC and the Treasury busy- and all this at a time when they have been told to cut costs and operate with a smaller workforce.

The advisory community has greeted the moves with enthusiasm but it will be interesting to see if there is the same level of optimism as the talks progress.

The government is simply not going to roll over. In tax agency-speak, it's called ensuring any changes do not "erode the tax base of the UK", and that phrase pops up an awful lot in the consultations......