Letter: Scottish tax

It is with incredulity that I read that the tax varying power of the Scottish Parliament has been allowed to "lapse" (your report, 19 November). The basis of this was that keeping the option would have cost millions of pounds in administration.

The UK political system does not hold referenda as part of the normal governing process, so the 1997 referendum, in which the Scottish electorate voted for tax varying powers (not time limited), was a watershed moment.

How can the "settled will" of the electorate be allowed to just "lapse"? You also report HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was asking this summer for "at least 7 million to administer the 3p variable rate".

How can it cost 7m to administer an non-existent tax? The fairer local income tax was killed by Unionists and the Treasury by implying that HMRC would not administer the tax. It would appear we are being poorly served by our politicians (Unionist and Nationalist alike) as well as our government administrations.

Michael N Crosby

Muiravonside

By Linlithgow

Peter Scott (Letters, 15 November) condemns as illogical my proposal that progressive income tax is the fair way to pay for further education without proposing any alternative. If he backs the graduate tax, which seems to be the key alternative, this is nothing other than a tax on current and future generations of students.

Why should they pay for, in Mr Scott's words, "the government's failure to manage the economy" when most were not even of an age to vote? Why is it not more logical that this should be shared by everyone including previous graduates who have participated in the profligacy which has to some extent resulted in the current financial situation?

Is it not better that everyone tightens their belts a little, depending on their ability to pay, rather than an unfortunate minority paying the disproportionate brunt, whether as a victim of high unemployment, graduate tax, removal of child benefit, paying for their care when elderly. This is, after all, the principle on which the National Health Service is based.

Scotland is repeatedly denigrated as having a dependency culture. This is a distorted view; almost a negative of the actuality of a people who are generally giving and generous to those in need, as is often exemplified by their disproportionate giving to charity.

I believe if the logic of progressive income tax was properly explained the majority would accept it as the fairest way.

Jim Stamper

Burnside Road

Rutherglen

South Lanarkshire