Sir, - Perhaps if the EU relents and retains duty-free shopping for those travelling between EU countries, it should also investigate why these "duty-free" prices are so high? It seems to me that airports and ferries have been adding their own "duty" for years. The savings in duty-free shops are far less than one would expect given the large chunk of tax that is supposedly removed from cigarettes, alcohol and luxury items. It sickened me over the past months to see spokesmen for duty-free operators pleading the case for duty-free retention when the fact is that they never passed on the tax savings to the customer. - Yours, etc., Shay Hogan,
Warren Crescent, Castleknock, Dublin 15.