It is important to appreciate the context in which ethnographic fieldwork (or any other form of research) takes place. This chapter describes the prevailing conditions at the time of our fieldwork. Both politics and fiscal matters have low salience in Britain and our participants describe their lack of knowledge of tax. The fiscal field is that part of public policy that deals with both raising government funds through taxes and spending. As immigrants they face particular difficulties, compounded by their status which can be uncertain due to shifting immigration policies and ruptures in the immigration field.