REGARDING your report on the U-turn on council tax (September 17), is it me or has it not dawned on anyone that we are paying for the services we receive, ie waste collection fire police etc.

Why should this be based on the price of your house?

Some people have lived in their homes for years and are now being penalised for the boom in house prices. Why should a person in three-bedroom semi pay more than a person in a two-bedroom terrace? We all receive the same services and should be paying equal amounts.

The poll tax may have been a bit extreme but the idea was on the right lines. Contrary to popular belief, people who live in a slightly larger house are not "rolling in it" and really suffer paying this extortionate tax while someone living two doors away is paying a much reduced rate. Scrap this unfair tax and replace it with a fair one

J Jones,

Beadle Garth,

Copmanthorpe, York.

Updated: 10:44 Tuesday, September 27, 2005