It’s true that we need to pay into the system to save social care – but won’t another tax cause more confusion?

The price for better social care is worth paying – definitely! But is another tax the best way?

Perhaps someone could explain why it is thought necessary or advantageous to have such a complicated and fragmented system of taxation. The transaction costs must be formidable, not to mention the complexity for taxpayers keeping up with the paperwork.

A single “all receipts” tax, set at a uniform rate for all – save perhaps a gentle gradient at the lower income end, and with no exemptions of any sort – would be so much more sensible. It would supplant income tax, CGT, IHT, stamp duty, TV licence, national insurance and all other forms of tax bearing upon the individual.

Better still, we could replace the term tax with “Personal Civil Society Subscription”.

Steve Ford
Haydon Bridge, Northumberland

The return of David Cameron

I’ve been away on holiday for a couple of weeks and am disappointed to find on my return that the country is still being run by the worst government in British history.

It seems to me that after the People’s Vote march (which I took part in), they had a big pow wow and some of them lost their tempers. Then they announced an end to austerity. Hmm.. sorry government, but it don’t wash with me. A cynical buyoff in my opinion.

And, apparently, David Cameron is thinking of returning to politics. God help us!

He thinks he might make a good foreign secretary. He’s wrong, of course, and will only make more stupid mistakes, I think.

I would, however, support his appointment as cultural attaché to St Helena. A nice shed could be prepared for him there and he would be well out of harm’s way.

Chris Bonfield
Address supplied

Time for a new prime minister

Why does nobody say (what is now obvious) that this is not a failure to negotiate an acceptable agreement? It is a complete betrayal by a prime minister who contrived to get her own way from day one and who has repeatedly lied and conspired with Olly Robbins to create a no-option scenario to achieve her objective by stealth.

What must now happen is that she is removed immediately and replaced by someone who believes in the strength of the UK outside Europe (and is a declared Leaver) and is prepared to go back and renegotiate.

Bill Cheshire
Address supplied

We don’t hear enough about Home Office horrors

Helen Jambunathan’s article on asylum and immigration touched me a lot. After reading it, it took me back to 2004-2012. I was enduring all sorts of hardship because of the Home Office, being a single parent after years of domestic violence.

It made me make all sorts of bad decisions. This topic is bigger than most people can see.

Amie Joof
Address supplied

There are thousands of missing children

The Home Office has agreed an amount of £150,000 for the police investigation of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance – 140,000 children go missing every year and some of these cases get no such money after a certain period.

The Needham and Whinham cases have had a fraction of the £11m spent on the McCann case. They are working class and from Yorkshire and Newcastle. The McCann duo are doctors.

Nothing to do with social class, of course, because the Tory government are there for all of us, including those of us they refer to as “ordinary”. Unbelievable.

R Kimble
Leeds

What did the Coca-Cola truck ever do to anyone?

Since when did we resort to legislation of the type proposed for the governance of food and drink?

Why not put the onus where it squarely belongs: on the shoulders of parents and guardians who should simply say no to them, or their children. Forget the “nanny state”. What we need is for parents to take ultimate responsibility. Lower sales will hit manufacturers’ pockets quite quickly.

Paul Sellers
Abingdon