Letter: Uncharitable VAT

Sir: Savers are not the only losers from the tumbling interest rates (letter, 6 February). Many charities depend on the interest from their investments for income to support their work: for small local charities with limited funds, it is not easy to develop an investment strategy beyond the use of the high-interest deposit funds offered by the Charities Official Investment Fund and similar organisations.

A practical response to the decline in charities' income from lower interest rates would be for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reduce the VAT burden on charities.

Yours faithfully,

TIMOTHY R. BARKER

Runcorn, Cheshire