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Council tax?
Energize
Posts: 509 Forumite
in Cutting tax
I was wondering how ability to pay comes into council tax, if for example you have no income would you still be liable to pay council tax?
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Comments
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Council Tax takes no account of ability to pay - you either need to find a way to pay or apply for Council Tax Benefit to help towards the payments.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0
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So you'd lose your house if you lost your job? That's pretty disgraceful.0
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You are expected to "downsize" or take in a lodger, ask any pensioner.
I suppose you (and any other people living at the property) could become "full time" students..0 -
Only a very small % of people lose their houses because of council tax arrears.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0
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You can get council tax benefit.
Yeah but it says if you have capital of over £16,000 (which is a small amount in any case) you can't get it, so if you owned your own home you would certainly have more than that in equity, unless a house doesn't count towards it. If you wanted to live off your savings like a pensioner for example you couldn't because council tax would drain your capital. Taxes should be means tested on income, anything else is unfair.Only a very small % of people lose their houses because of council tax arrears.
No one should lose their house because of a non means tested regressive tax.
The idea of someone living in a caravan in the middle of the woods having to pay council tax despite having no income and using no services is laughable, do any other countries implement such a ridiculous system or is it just the uk?0 -
If you have over £16k in savings (the house isn't counted), you could use some of it to pay your Council Tax until it got to under £16k, then re-apply. You would get Council Tax Benefit on a sliding scale until your savings are under £6k when you get all the CT paid.
I personally do not think this is unfair, everyone should pay something, imho, and you are still allowed to have full Bnenefit whilst having £6k in savings.(AKA HRH_MUngo)
Member #10 of £2 savers club
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton0 -
My Mum got sent to prison because she was in arrears with the council tax and couldnt pay it.0
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