AS a taxpayer of many years' standing, I tend to agree with the sentiments of Denis Harrison's letter (EA Jan 19), but not with his conclusion that further graduating the tax regime is the best way forward.

If it were as simple as Mr Harrison suggests, why is it after so many years as one of the most prosperous nations in the world, that we have such woefully inadequate provision in health, education and care for the elderly?

It cannot be for want of taxation, as every chancellor I have come across in the last 40 years has been more successful than his predecessor in dreaming up new ways of putting his hand in my wallet.

The real reason, I suspect, is that there is no real control over the ways in which the revenue is spent.

In part this can be accounted for by sheer waste. Can anyone for example, think of one defence project in the last 40 or 50 years that has come in on time and within budget? Overspend in this area of Government alone runs into billions of pounds every year, money that would fund the building of innumerable hospitals or schools that are sorely needed in all parts of the country.

Similarly, there is no apparent control over the prioritisation of Government spending. Can it be right for example, that we spend revenue on spurious projects such as the Dome, when our pensioners receive such pitiful benefits that they have to consider prison as an alternative to paying council tax? I think not.

If politics is about people, it is high time that taxpayers saw some form of payback for the money they contribute to society. If building hospitals or schools or providing decent pensions to our elderly means that we can't fund some of the more esoteric but politically correct projects for a year or so, I, for one, will welcome paying my income tax.

GRAHAM CARPENTER

Nythe