One argument remains for treating such compositions as small beer, and that is the 'romantic' subject-matter.
The confusion that we are building into the system could make the little local difficulty that we had in the referendum seem small beer indeed.
Professional men do not want to be troubled unnecessarily with the small beer or trivia of taxation matters.
When we left office, it was well over £35 billion—and that was not small beer.
Lotteries may, on the face of it, seem relatively small beer in comparison with other types of gambling.
I was chairman many years ago and am still a vice-president, though of course that is very small beer compared with a president.
Against that background, a saving of £300 million over six years is pretty small beer.
Therefore, the deterrent effect of a fine—albeit an unlimited fine—would be small beer to a company.