From Richard Huson.

HAVING never had the luxury of mains sewerage, I would like to take the opportunity to comment on Deputy Duhamel’s comments (JEP, 4 February).

From my understanding, sewage treatment is paid out of general taxation, not from the parish rates.

Therefore it is the government’s duty, wherever logistically practical, to lay sewerage to housing, whether for new developments or existing properties.

Here we must not be hoodwinked into believing that this new favourite phrase ‘user pays’ applies everywhere.

We all have to pay 20 per cent tax, but the Comptroller of Income Tax doesn’t give me a discounted tax rate because Transport and Technical Services won’t lay pipes to my property.

We should have had a ‘toilet tax’ years ago, and then we could have had a proper network of sewage pipes that would have been fit for purpose.