Gerald Northover’s (Letters, December 19) central thesis that lower tax rates increase growth might be disputed by as many economists as agree with it.

Clearly he believes that increased tax revenues should be spent on services and he may agree with the American Judge who said: “I like paying taxes because this way I pay for civilisation.”

Perhaps even more important questions are: who is taxed and at what rate? Do the present tax arrangements lead to a fairer society?

The first question is relatively easy to answer, although some of the rich and powerful use their wealth to set up complex tax avoidance schemes.

This does not lead to a fairer society, but rather increases inequality, since less tax overall may reduce spending on essential services.

On the second question, I suspect most would not agree with a lowering of higher band tax rates for the rich, which appears to be this coalition government policy.

There is a growing consensus that, under this government, inequality has increased, as shown by the increased welfare bill, with many of the new jobs being low wage ones, which require support in terms of benefits payments, if people are not to descend into more extreme poverty.

I am a Green Party member and share Jane Burnet’s commitment to a fairer society. The tax regime would be one of several ways by which we would seek to achieve this aim.

Other methods would include a higher ‘Living Wage’, which would be enforced and have the effect of both lifting workers out of poverty and increasing the tax revenues, since more people on lower incomes would pay more tax.

This sounds like a win-win situation to me.

If enough people vote for us and the UK has another hung parliament, then we may even end up in a coalition government, an option Gerald Northover does not consider.

So vote for the Green Party and see if we can help deliver a better society than the current government.

I believe that we can, but only if enough people vote for us.

John Tomblin, Stanier Road, Preston, Weymouth