Sir – Should the wealthy be allowed to avoid paying taxes that the rest of us pay?
Two of your recent correspondents unintentionally advocated ways of avoiding tax.
This is what would surely happen if we followed William Loneskie’s advice and left the European Union.
Taxes would also be avoided if Perth and Kinross Council were to use our City Halls to provide lunches or dinners free of all rent and business rates, according to Robin Valentine’s proposal on Monday.
European civil servants have been instructed by our elected governments to collect information about each taxpayer across our continent, as Mr Loneskie pointed out.
This is so that we can ensure no one can avoid paying the taxes our national laws demand.
Moreover, our elected governments agreed to remove the separate import regulations used to delay and frustrate the movement of goods and services across our national borders.
The UK Government was a notable advocate of replacing those widely different restrictions with the common set of regulations that Mr Loneskie dislikes.
In summary, I am glad that our governments co-operate with our neighbours.
I resent the wealthy tax avoiders who hide their incomes from tax authorities.
While I appreciate Mr Valentine’s wish to use our empty City Hall, my sympathies lie firmly with Perth’s restaurants and cafes that pay rent and tax.
I have much less sympathy with tax-free multi-million pound organisations – such as local councils – that would steal catering trade from our tax-paying local businesses.
Andrew Dundas.
34 Ross Avenue,
Perth.
Let girls make own choices
Sir, – I hope that girls continue to ignore special exhortations to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics and instead just follow courses that reflect their own interests, whatever they are.
No one should feel pressurised to sacrifice their own academic ambitions just to satisfy the vision of feminists.
Instead of trying to influence younger girls, feminist campaigners could recommend all young women currently studying gender or women’s studies should transfer to engineering or metallurgy instead.
That would be a step towards closing the “gender pay gap” and martyrdom always inspires emulation.
Males and females tend to have different interests and priorities.
The general inclination of girls is towards the personal rather than the mechanical, so claims that it is all the product of sinister social conditioning are triumphs of dogma over fact.
Feminists glorify characteristics more common in males and urge women to emulate them, while claiming to be fighting on behalf of women.
I regard men and women as complementary, combining to meet the needs of family, economy and society.
Richard Lucas.
11 Broomyknowe,
Colinton,
Edinburgh.
Be frank about oil situation
Sir, – Why does the SNP consistently get it so spectacularly wrong when making claims about crude prices, reserves and the inevitable impact of the oil sector on the Scottish and, in particular, the north-east Scotland economy?
The predictions by the former and present First Ministers of oil being worth £300,000 per capita in Scotland, or we were on the “cusp of a second oil boom” were indeed stupidity on stilts.
But not to be deterred, we had the SNP’s Dennis Robertson a few months ago claim there was “no crisis” and to cap it all we have the newly-appointed Economy Secretary Keith Brown predict only the other day of “good times ahead” for the oil industry.
The SNP needs to abandon its ostrich-like approach and consider carefully the latest data published about the worsening economic forecasts for Scotland (Bank of Scotland) and in particular Aberdeen and its travel-to-work area whereby the situation is dire not just for the oil workers but for the vast support industry which tailored its business models to act as the vital supply chain for the oil industry.
Grim times ahead with $50 the new $100 would have been a more appropriate statement by Keith Brown and then the people who have lost their jobs and businesses would at least feel the Scottish Government had finally woken up to the seriousness of the economic situation in Scotland. Fat chance.
Ian Lakin.
Pinelands,
Murtle Den Road,
Milltimber.
Better off out of Europe
Sir, – As someone who experienced the decimalisation and our joining of the Common Market, I think both were not what was promised to the man in the street.
Within months of our abandoning our old currency, everything was a lot more expensive and continued to increase, except for wages.
We were promised the earth with the Common Market but those of us in business already new it was a millionaires’ club and not for the ordinary worker.
International trade was immediately stamped on by the UK customs. Many will recall van loads of wine being confiscated at Dover.
We had free trade but only for the multi-nationals.
I was in the meat trade and watched it die under the weight of hundreds of regulations.
But these rules were ignored by the French, Spanish and the rest of Europe.
At one time in Dundee there was a butcher’s shop in every street and a thriving meat market sending lorry loads to Smithfield and beyond.
Then it was the turn of the fishing industry. Our fleet was slashed while foreign boats were given access. How many fishmongers are left in any Scottish town?
Do you really believe that car companies like BMW, Mercedes, in fact any of them; French, German or Italian are going to stop trading with us if we pull out? No. BMW makes its biggest profits in Britain. Every manufacturer in Europe will go on trying to sell goods in Britain.
Bill Duthie.
25 St Fillans Rod,
Dundee.
SNP wrong on economy
Sir, – The cost of the failed computer system which was supposed to facilitate EU payments to farmers in Scotland is around £200 million.
The Scottish Government could be fined up to £125 million for the failure to process the payments within the required timescales.
I recall that Alex Salmond insisted during the lead up to the independence referendum that the cost of setting up an independent Scotland would be £200 million, about the same as the SNP has wasted on one failed IT system.
This is the same former RBS oil economist who congratulated Fred Goodwin on his “great deal” in taking over the toxic ABN Amro.
This was the deal that nearly led to the collapse of the global banking sector.
We have an SNP MSP sub convener of the Holyrood finance committee, John Mason, who claimed on social media that the deficit and the debt were the same thing. Our finances are hardly in the hands of the sharpest knives in the drawer.
Donald Lewis.
Pine Cottage,
Beech Hill,
Gifford.
No threat of federal Europe
Sir, – The essential Remain argument is that in a globalised world it is vital that this industrial nation remains part of the largest transnational trading block.
The real problems we face, such as international capital flows, are best addressed within the EU so why would we want to become a vulnerable, isolated target?
There is no chance of the EU becoming a federal state and key decisions will continue to be made in the Council of Ministers by heads of national governments.
The EU Commission is made up of Humphrey Appleby clones who fell off their national ladders: second-rate civil servants shifting paper on a gravy train to nowhere.
The father of the EU was General de Gaul who hated the USA model and made sure we had a united Europe of states rather than a United States of Europe.
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.