IT comes as no surprise that the Queen is appealing the rates bill for her shooting estate (Queen in appeal on estate bill, February 21) – after all, she did once apply to a fuel poverty fund to help upgrade the heating at Buckingham Palace!

If anything, it highlights yet again that there is no place for a monarchy in a democratic society. We are well into the 21st century and the idea of a hereditary monarchy is well past its sell-by date. Such a monarchy serves no practical purpose – any role it has could easily be taken by an elected president (or any other title), allowing the public to choose their head of state. That is what real democracy entails and it would also mean ditching the House of Lords, another political throwback to pre-democratic times.

Cllr Kenny MacLaren
Paisley

READ MORE: Revealed: The Queen appeals Scottish tax bill for Balmoral​

THIS application for a reduction in rates by Her Majesty should be treated with the same urgency that she applied to giving her Royal Assent to the Scottish Parliament’s UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill last year.

John Jamieson
South Queensferry

FURTHER to your coverage about Balmoral Estate’s sporting rates appeal, there are a few important points your readers should be aware of.

Rural land-based businesses in Scotland support thousands of jobs and help to sustain remote communities. Estates, the majority of which are small businesses, have always paid due rates on their business activities such workshops, offices and holiday properties.

All businesses are able to appeal their valuations in case of errors or inaccuracies. Around one-third of all valuation appeals on sporting rates is similar to other sectors, and while waiting for appeal outcomes the bills are being paid.

The appeals are also from tenants, crofters and farmers who have been caught up in this process.

David Johnstone
Chairman, Scottish Land & Estates

THE Scottish Government has just secured their tax proposals through Holyrood despite opposition parties voting against. Those opposition parties came forward with absolutely no proposals for Scotland’s taxation system, only criticism of the SNP’s progressive policies, which ask those who are earning more to pay a little more. Progressive taxation is the only way forward for any socially just society, and Scotland has a very different set of spending priorities to that of the Conservative Westminster government including free personal care, abolition of prescription charges and no student tuition fees to mention a few. Those need paid for and for Scotland to be the socially just society we all deserve to live in, progressive taxation is totally acceptable, so I applaud the Scottish Government.

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

I READ with interest the suggestion from P Davidson that the Scottish National Party might change its name to the Scottish Internationalist Party (Letters, February 21). Yesterday I visited the SNP website and was dismayed to find that I had to do a bit of searching to find any reference to independence. Eventually, I found it under the heading of “Campaigns”... listed sixth. In the light of this, and of other matters which appear to be distracting the party’s leadership, Perhaps, in order to focus minds on the core reason for its existence, the SNP might consider changing its name to the “Scottish Independence Party”.

Billy Scobie
Alexandria

DESCRIBING the behaviour and possible motives of the “independent “ group of MPs, Shona Craven nicely parodies their utterances (It’s with a heavy heart and great excitement that I resign, February 22). “My values are very close to my heart. They are also close to my ears.” Is there perhaps an appropriate anagram there?

David McEwan Hill
Sandbank, Argyll

READ MORE: Exclusive: It’s with a heavy heart and great excitement that I resign​