I'm all fingers crossed that I don't have a year when I cross the VAT threshold. I'm registered, but that was because most of my clients are large corporations and there was a risk in the beginning that I'd hit the threshold.
It beggars belief that they are doing this. There should be a threshold of, say £500k or £1m, instead of slapping another financial burden on small businesses. I would have to go to the subscription version of my accounts package, at £170 per year.
As has been said above, we have to do returns anyway (else we get bashed about) and we do them electronically now. It's rubbish.