Madam,

Mr Cohn-Sherbok is quite right to raise the question of discrimination in relation to the council tax surcharge. Once the authorities start to single out, stigmatise and penalise minorities there is no knowing what the outcome will be, and Mr Cohn-Sherbok will be only too well aware of the possibilities.

I have yet to read any properly researched paper that highlights second home ownership as a major factor in the housing shortage in Ceredigion. Maybe if Tamsin Davies can produce one we will all be better informed.

Politicians see second-home owners as a convenient scapegoat for the complete failure of their housing and employment policies, and also think it will be electorally popular with some.

The proposed tax will be difficult to administer, expensive to enforce and, like all such attempts at social engineering by taxation, doomed to fail due to unforeseen consequences. Finally I should point out to Mr Brown that the council tax is, unless I’ve missed something, intended to reflect the cost of providing council services, and is not a wealth tax.

Yours etc,Name and address supplied.