Letter: Taxed to death or death to taxes?

Your coverage of the proposed changes to the tax-raising powers of Holyrood (19 May) propounds a great quandary for the people of Scotland in general and the finance secretary in particular: is it going to be the status quo of being taxed to death or will it mean death to taxes (well, at least some of them)?

There has never been any form of tax on income that led to more productive work being done, apart from in the "tax avoidance industry" which flows from any tax increase.

Both the SNP and Liberal Democrat plans for a local income tax (in reality a Scottish household income tax, with a very appropriate acronym) have hit the buffers and the council tax freeze is biting into the ever more strained budgets of local government.

Sadly, the Calman proposals have placed a caveat on how much income tax can be reduced, yet put no limit on any increase.

This is a great pity, but even within this stipulation Holyrood will be able "to create its own devolved taxes".

Where better to start with these powers than by reducing income tax by the maximum allowed and killing off council tax completely?

Where better to collect vast untapped public revenue than from the increase in annual rental value of land brought about, for example, by the nigh on 500 million public investment in the M74 extension? Why not say "death to all taxes" and just go for the unavoidable collection of land rental values created by us all in the first place?

RON GREER

Blair Atholl

Perthshire