I WOULD never attempt to answer the questions posed by R J Morris (You Say, Tuesday, March 22) but instead urge him to consider the origins and development of local government taxation then try to contemplate the enormity of introducing and enforcing a system such as he advocates.

For the sake of simplicity let us imagine a number of landowners came together and agreed to provide certain services in a specified location, the costs being met proportionally between them.

This was the foundation of the old rating sys tem and worked well because only landowners had a vote.

When the vote was extended to all and sundry it was not so easy to extend liability for payment. No one was happy with the old rating system but it worked reasonably well at low administrative costs until Mrs Thatcher's infamous Community Charge (nicknamed the Poll Tax.)

Academic

To many in local government it seemed the lady was extremely gullible in adopting a scheme dreamed up by an academic with no practical experience of actually knocking on someone's door for money.

Others maintain she was very shrewd and were quick to point out the thousands of names that subsequently disappeared from electoral rolls belonged to those who might have been expected to support her political opponents.

Be that as it may, there can be no doubt the present council tax is a hastily botched-up attempt to salvage something workable from what was an unprecedented disaster.

JOHN HINTON,

Worcester.