Number crunching premium bonds | Brief letters
Tax proves taxing | A canal-boating break | Directionless sprinting | Changes that work | How very Guardian
The suggestion that the UK could raise significant sums by increasing the limit on premium bonds is not, unfortunately, mathematically sound (Letters, 17 September). If the money was moved from UK banks and building societies, then it would be moving from a taxed environment to an untaxed environment. So, in addition to paying 3.6% interest in prizes, the exchequer would lose between 20% and 40% tax on the cancelled deposit account. This is likely to take the effective cost beyond 4%, and above the rate the government pays on short-term gilts.
Steve Duffy
Chippenham, Wiltshire
• Sue Leyland (Letters, 21 September) wonders if we’ll be giving up life on the Gordon Bennett. Don’t panic, Sue, we hope this is only a brief hiatus from bobbing about, but there’s a couple of tumours that need dealing with. We’ve called them Donald and JD and hope they’ll be successfully removed by the new year.
Ian and Christine Grieve
Gordon Bennett, Llangollen canal