5 DECEMBER 1987, Page 33

Taxing question

Sir: Assuming that it was not merely rhetorical, may I proffer an answer to your question (Tot and kettle', 7 November) about the sympathy felt for Lester Piggott?

First he is a hero to many because he won money for them. In his time he was literally a good bet, and people are grate- ful.

More importantly there is a big distinc- tion in people's minds between seeking to keep what is yours in the first place and taking from somebody else. There is no

LETTERS

widespread agreement about the incidence or morality of taxation, which at the highest level was for a number of years 83 per cent for earned income and 98 per cent for unearned income.

This distinction is reflected in interna- tional law. Theft is an extraditable offence, but evasion of tax is not. One country will not enforce the fiscal laws of another.

J. D. Tunnicliffe

100 High Street, Great Abington, Cambridge