Yes, of course he'll listen, then damn well do what he was intending to do in the first place!!

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, Bucks

My wife and I started a manufacturing business in 1974, and in 1987 acquired a freehold factory.The collapse of tbe British manufacturing sector, so ably assisted by this government, has now eroded much of our customer base.For thirty two years we worked long hours and made far less money than I would have received from employment in a large company - I am a graduate engineer.

We have now virtually ceased production, and intended to sell the freehold premises next year. This was to have been the basis for our pension, as we have not made sufficient cash flow to enable us to make significant contributions to a pension plan, which would have been savaged by the labour chancellor ten years ago.

If we sell before 5th April 2008 we will, as basic rate tax payers, pay around £5,000 CGT, and the following year this will rise to £45,000. What a wonderful start to retirement - thank you Darling Brown!

The abolition of Indexation Allowance, Taper Relief, and the Kink Test will all have a catastrophic impact on both non-business, and especially, business investors who hold assets from years back.

If a married couple had purchased such an asset in March 1982 for £100,000, and sell for £278,300 in the current year there will be no tax to pay as the gain is exactly balanced by indexation and taper reliefs. A sale next year will give rise to a CGT liability of £28,872.

This government introduced taper relief as an incentive to long term investment and enterprise, replacing indexation relief which negated the effect of inflation. All very laudable, and I believe effective and fair.Many people have built up significant assets,obeying the rules of the system, and now Darling Brown seems to think that the time is ripe to stab the prudent investors in the back with a retrospective change in the rules, going back 25 years to 1982, and reap his reward.

Private equity is claimed to be the catalyst for these changes. They have fired an elephant gun at Equity Elephant, missed, and shot Mortal Meerkat.

Judging by the lack of protest over the abolition of indexation relief, which roughly doubles the aquisition cost of an asset bought in 1982, a lot of the older Meerkats must believe that it only winged them.

In my opinion Darling Brown is contemptuous of the taxpayers of Britain, and underhand in the manner in which he repeatedly applies legislation retrospectively.

The people should protest at this injustice. They did so against the Corn Laws of the mid 1800's and won their repeal. Now is the time to once more demand justice.

Mike Wilson, Gloucestershire,