Government has only itself to blame for fact Police Scotland is liable to pay VAT

Graham CB Roberts trots out the standard SNP excuse for the payment of VAT by Police Scotland (Letters, 20 February). He blames “the Tories” (of course) and makes a plea for Police Scotland to be treated ‘like every other force”.

But Police Scotland is not like every other force. It is a national police force. Police forces elsewhere in the UK are regional forces paid for out of local funds and are therefore not liable for VAT. It is because Police Scotland is paid for out of national (Scottish) funds that it is liable for VAT.

This situation was no surprise to anyone who pays attention. The SNP government was repeatedly told by HM Treasury that HMRC rules would require a national police force to pay VAT. But the SNP government went ahead anyway, and created a national force so it could have the name “Scotland” in it and so that the SNP government would have direct control over it.

In addition to warnings from HMT, there was a creative solution proposed by the union Unison, which would have mitigated SNP government control over the police force but would have avoided the force having to pay VAT. The fact that Police Scotland has to pay VAT is directly and solely because the SNP government had one objective – direct control of a national police force – and because the government deliberately disregarded advice it was given repeatedly about HMRC rules.

Mr Roberts tells you none of that, but instead pushes a grievance-driven agenda of “how the Tories think they can do what they like to Scotland”. This is straight from the SNP crib sheet and should be treated with appropriate derision.

JILL STEPHENSON Glenlockhart Valley, Edinburgh As I understand it, Graham CB Roberts has got it wrong with regard to VAT payable by Police Scotland. The Scottish Government was warned by HMRC that, under EU rules, amalgamating the regional forces into a single national one would incur liability to VAT but decided to go ahead anyway as, of course, it had every right to do. However the anti- Westminster rather than anti-eu rhetoric since would make one almost believe the change was made for this very purpose.

(DR) A MCCORMICK Kirkland Road, Terregles