YOUR editorial’s quotation of Donald Trump’s ludicrous excuse that “nobody knew health care could be so complicated” reflects two equally naïve admissions by Tony Blair and David Cameron (“President Trump discovers there are no easy answers”, The Herald, April 27).
After resigning, Mr Blair acknowledged his inexperience by saying he wished he had known back in 1997 what he had learned since. Mr Cameron admitted he had not realised that cutting the deficit would be so difficult.
Despite the increasing threats from EU sources, we must hope that the more zealous Brexiters have prepared their ground on more solid foundations, to avoid its “worst idiocies” feared by Dr RM Morris (Letters, April 27).
Such solid foundations are not evident in your other editorial’s “already miserable saga” on the reform of Non-domestic Rates (NDR) which gives no grounds for optimism that our lords and masters in either Holyrood or Westminster have the necessary vision for radical overhaul which our whole taxation system needs (“Rates review carries political risk”, The Herald, April 27).
The UK is supposedly a well-educated mature democracy, whose people should be prepared to pay for the policies they vote for from their own pockets, not from the milch-cow of businesses which have no votes. Business taxes such as rates, employers’ national insurance, and corporation tax should be reduced and abolished over a five-year transition period. Genuine economic services benefiting businesses would of course be charged for.
The total sums involved should be added to wage and salary rates, state pensions, and certain welfare benefits, by law based on an annual national scale; and we should then pay the necessary increased taxes as individuals ourselves. Obviously the details would be more complicated than can be covered here, but that should be the objective.
Imagine the army of bureaucrats in both private and public sectors who could be released into productive employment. So would any political party believing in “no taxation without representation” take this on?
John Birkett,
12 Horseleys Park,
St Andrews.
I WAS very surprised to read that the Barclay commission will not be reporting its findings for several months (“Rates review chief says bills may be unchanged”, The Herald, April 27) . Ken Barclay in his previous position as chairman of RBS certainly did not give its corporate customers the same length of time to decide whether to support their businesses or not. Mr Barclay is a well-respected businessman who is well aware that businesses cannot wait months to make serious decisions. Neither did his previous employer, the Royal Bank of Scotland.
With the proposed new rates throughout Scotland jeopardising many businesses, including RBS customers, I am very surprised that it is taking so long to produce his report.
J Stewart Spence,
Owner, The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa,
North Deeside Road, Pitfodels, Aberdeen.
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