I have to say that I am a little confused by the claims being made in the papers by City of York Council about the level of its council tax.

The Liberal Democrats keep insisting that the council tax in York is lower than other major councils in the country, yet when I look at the figures this does not seem correct.

In the letter written by York's Labour MP Hugh Bayley (Bayley Serves Up Volley Of Fury, April 11) he gives the council tax figures for Wakefield, Doncaster, Leeds and Bradford and York is higher than all of these; so what is going on?

I suspect the Liberal Democrats are deliberately twisting the facts to suit their own arguments, but it is not fair to mislead the people of York on this issue.

If you ask people how much council tax they pay, they will tell you the amount that they pay to the council each year and not some other figure used by the council's accountants.

Stephen Burton,

Lowther Street,

York.

Updated: 10:14 Saturday, April 22, 2006