SIR - Keith Thomson calls for VAT loopholes to be closed (T&A, August 2).

VAT - part of the EU tax system - was accepted in this country by Edward Heath in 1973 as a condition of Britain's entry into the then EEC. Introduced slyly as a tax on luxuries, its application is now wide and unjust.

A stock of sound housing is an asset to the nation. Yet VAT at 17.5 per cent is added to the cost of any needed house repairs. Why should a householder be penalised for keeping his or her property in good order?

VAT goes to the treasury - a stealth tax. It forms past of Britain's payments to the EU, recently agreed to be from 2007 £6 billion per year, that is £115 million per week.

An unknown proportion of this is lost through fraud or mismanagement. The EU's own auditors have not approved its account for 11 years. A chief EU auditor exposed openings for fraud, and was sacked by EU Commissioner Kinnock.

If Britain withdrew from this corrupt organisation huge sums could be diverted to our own uses: More nurses, more dentists trained, more police walking the streets, improved public transport, etc.

I agree with Mr Thomson that airlines should not be granted tax concessions.

Douglas Hartley, Irvine Terrace, Clayton