LETTERS Poll tax at heart
Sir: I am fed up with the assumption that the Community Charge was an ill-advised tax, and reading comments to that effect in The Spectator (Books, 8 April).
In Scotland the tax was in place one year ahead of the rest of the country, and although there was stiff opposition from those with vested interests, it was beginning to be accepted and understood to be basi- cally fair. One of the first steps that this Government took to alienate its Tory sup- porters here was to abolish the Community Charge, leaving them at the mercy of high- spending Labour councils.
Now we are back to a modified rating system, where many retired people or those with modest earnings but nevertheless liv- ing in a des res, are obliged to foot the bill for taxes imposed by a party whose sup- porters in the main pay little or no Council Tax, or whose income is such that its impo- sition causes no hardship.
As one of the few remaining Tory coun- cillors left in Scotland, I speak from the heart.
Brenda Holliday
10 Chalton Road, Bridge of Allan, Stirling
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