Now that letting agents’ fees will be abolished (Report, 24 November), attention could turn to that other concealed charge, the booking fee. York’s Barbican and its agents levy a 12.5% fee on card purchases. They charge no such fee on cash payments, despite the fact that it costs them more to handle cash than debit cards. If rents go up as a result of the abolition of letting agents’ fees, and the price of concert tickets rises if booking fees are outlawed, we shall at least have a more honest market.
Steven Burkeman
York
• The insurance premium tax was invented by the Tories in 1997, and set at 4%. Labour strongly condemned it, but in power increased it to 5%. The Tories have since increased it to 6%, 9.5%, 10%, and now 12%. Someone has to pay for the Tory election bribe not to increase income tax, national insurance, or VAT.
John Richards
Oxford
• Nice to hear from Mr Hammond that we have saved £130 due to the freezing of petrol tax for seven years. He is a little modest. If we consider chimney tax (frozen 327 years, saving £25), soap tax (frozen 181 years, saving £20), brick tax (frozen 166 years, saving £15), window tax (frozen 165 years, saving £75) and playing card tax (frozen 56 years, saving £5) we have actually saved £270. Thank you very much, Mr Hammond.
Ray Chalker
London
• So, now we know that for years to come we will have higher inflation, lower growth and higher borrowing – £58.7bn to be precise. After Brexit things were meant to get better.
Alan Costley
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
• As a triple-locked pensioner whose “Jam” children and grandchildren survive on financial support from me, I’m wondering how things will pan out when pensioner poverty creeps back in under the Tories next year and my generation are no longer able to bail out their children?
Chris Pickering
Leeds
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