Sir – I read that Oxfordshire County Council is considering posting a web page encouraging the voluntary payment of additional council tax with some incredulity.

It’s not that long ago that Oxfordshire County Council increased the pay of certain senior executive officers by £5,000 a year while cutting pay, services and jobs at the bottom.

Austerity has not affected the top layer of local government one iota, so far, who are still paying themselves vastly more than the Prime Minister’s reported salary of £142,500 a year.

Until the pain of austerity policies starts hurting at the top of the tree, the response to paying more tax should be an emphatic no.

Timothy Oates, Abingdon