Letters: Taxes and trust

Sir: Commenting on William Hague's proposed cut in the higher rate of income tax ("At last, Labour's rivals make politics more interesting", 16 August), you accuse the centre-left think tanks of an "absence of effort, let alone output" in producing new ideas for Labour. In our case at least this is a surprising criticism, since we are working in precisely this field.

Our Commission on Taxation and Citizenship, chaired by the political philosopher Raymond Plant, is a major enquiry into reform of the tax system. Our objective is not just to make it fairer - something the Tories' proposal reveals they are not interested in - but to rebuild trust between citizens and governments over taxation and public spending. There are few issues more central to Labour's second term.