Sean Brogan, of Coombe Vale Road, Teignmouth, writes:

I have been studying the proposed budget to be set by Teignbridge for the financial year 2016/17. It reminds me of Benjamin Franklin, who once remarked: ‘Nothing is certain: except death and taxes.’ Death comes to us all later rather than sooner, I hope, but Teignbridge Conservative taxes are with us now.

Using the old trick of Houdini’s smoke and mirrors Teignbridge Council are attempting to hoodwink their ‘hardworking’ tax payers.

They introduced the green garden tax, raising £715,000 from a 30 per cent take-up; a further £140,000 is being raised by increasing the car parking charges; add to this the 1.97 per cent increase in the household charge plus the reduction in services resulting in dirty streets, toilet closure etc. The off-loading of services, such as toilets, has meant an increase in town council taxes.

Then we read that they are using our taxes to speculate in commercial property in Newton Abbot and utter fine words that they can borrow on the ‘market’ at ‘prudential rates’ (their words, not mine!). The latter idea is that they are safeguarding our future, as if anyone knows what that means.

Again, add to this no wage increases (workers have lost out on average £2,300 since 2008), closing services and weeds in the streets. What has happened to the increase in income produced by the large amount of houses built across the district?

I want my taxes spent on well-paid and happy staff, good youth facilities and a ‘needs’ budget for the people, not spent on property speculation.

These last years of austerity and cuts have meant that there has been a transfer of wealth more and more to those who have so much that they have to hide it away in tax havens, with smart accountants covering for them.

Leaving more money in the pockets of the ‘little people’ is becoming a bit of a joke. The rise of the use of food banks diminishes those who care.

I will leave the last word to Abraham Lincoln: ‘You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’