Letter of the week: The privilege of paying tax

New Statesman​

6 days ago

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'Just Praise Tax!' might be a useful tweak to your coverline (4 July). I agree with Will Dunn's analysis that Labour missed an opportunity to make it clear that the tax system is not working. I was shocked to read that the basic rate of income tax has not risen for more than 50 years. During that time, the average life expectancy of people in the UK has increased by almost ten years, and with it our spending on healthcare and pensions. There is no escaping that our taxes need to rise.
Rachel Reeves might well have benefited from listening to my 93-year-old mother, congratulating her two granddaughters on their first jobs: she told them it was a privilege to pay tax. My daughters, she said, had taken from the health service and the education system, and now had the privilege of paying tax for the benefit of others. I agree. The Labour Party needs to change the narrative around tax. Paying it is a commitment to society. It is a recognition that we are better together. We offer a percentage of our income for the common good.
Eleri Cubbage, Peterston-super-Ely, Vale of Glamorg
Taxonomics
Will Dunn's fine article on taxation (Cover Story, 4 July) mentions but does not really dig into the issue of generational injustice. My wife and I are retired teachers. In the 1970s we began paying into a pension scheme, one set up on the assumption that we would likely be dead by now. Instead, we look likely to thrive for years to come. We hardly noticed the cost of our pension contributions, but now enjoy the income they bring. We bought our first house without much financial stress. Without planning, we have watched the value of our property rise hugely – indeed, absurdly. At a certain point, we inherited an unspectacular but substantial unearned sum.
Why does Rachel Reeves not properly tax people like my wife and me? The government is mistaken if it thinks we will vote for another party because we cannot have so many foreign holidays and meals out. We will only vote Labour down if we see no new signs of a prospering public sphere: an NHS without a ghastly waiting lists; civilised public transport for when we can no longer drive; an uplift in the well-being of our children and grandchildren. Please, Chancellor, heed Dunn, insist that we pay for these good things. Tax us more.
Mike Hawthorne, Eardisley, Herefordshire
At last, some proposals for overhauling the tax system. Why should someone who is working full-time and whose income is the same as mine have more money taken from their pay packet than is taken from mine? This is the net effect of National Insurance. Why shouldn't all income be treated equally regardless of its source? Those who have assets and can realise capital gains get an additional tax-free allowance. I have yet to see a satisfactory response from anyone to either of these questions.
Jean Macdonald, Coventry
Worthy of praise
Superb writing makes you read about subjects in which you have no interest. It beats me why people will spend £400 to live in a field and listen to noise. I have no interest in Glastonbury but read every word of Finn McRedmond's Sketch (4 July).
Brian Witcombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire
Courage vs inaction
Thank you for carrying Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan's account – an article from which many magazines would have shied away (First Person, 4 July). I am lost in admiration for her courage, and in despair at our government's inaction. Yes, Israel has the right to self-defence, but its actions in Gaza went beyond 'defence' long ago. How many more children must die before our government bans all arms sales to Israel?
Robert Dear, London N14
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The power of 'Dad'
I was moved to tears by Pippa Bailey's latest piece following the loss of her father (Deleted Scenes, 4 July). Her balancing of complex reflections with the simple mundanities of life carrying on around her is beautiful, and the last three paragraphs are like a Larkin poem in prose form.
The only get-out-of-grief card I have to offer her is to focus on all the happiness she brought to her father's life. My favourite word in the entire English language is 'Dad'. I'm sure that whenever Pippa called her father by that simple name his heart will have thrilled with love and pride.
Ric Cheyney, Talsarnau, Gwynedd, Wales
Like the deserts miss the rain
I've been reading the New Statesman for years and have never felt the need to write to you. However, on reading Tracey Thorn's last column (Off the Record, 27 June), I had to. She's been a great addition – a gentle but sharp read. Birth and death and all the stuff in between – thanks, Tracey, for writing about it all so relatably. You will be missed.
Bev Gosling, Bristol
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