City Hall proposal would hit Perth firms

Sir - Should the wealthy be allowed to avoid paying taxes that the rest of us pay?

Two of your recent correspondents unintentionally advocated ways of avoiding tax.

This is what would surely happen if we followed William Loneskie’s advice and left the European Union.

Taxes would also be avoided if Perth and Kinross Council were to use our City Halls to provide lunches or dinners free of all rent and business rates, according to Robin Valentine’s proposal on Monday.

European civil servants have been instructed by our elected governments to collect information about each taxpayer across our continent, as Mr Loneskie pointed out.

This is so that we can ensure no one can avoid paying the taxes our national laws demand.

Moreover, our elected governments agreed to remove the separate import regulations used to delay and frustrate the movement of goods and services across our national borders.

The UK Government was a notable advocate of replacing those widely different restrictions with the common set of regulations that Mr Loneskie dislikes.

In summary, I am glad that our governments co-operate with our neighbours.

I resent the wealthy tax avoiders who hide their incomes from tax authorities.

While I appreciate Mr Valentine’s wish to use our empty City Hall, my sympathies lie firmly with Perth’s restaurants and cafes that pay rent and tax.

I have much less sympathy with tax-free multimillion pound organisations - such as local councils - that would steal catering trade from our tax-paying local businesses.

Andrew Dundas. 34 Ross Avenue, Perth.

Council should not “steal” from Perth’s thriving restaurant sector.