Council Tax - Unjust?

seven-day-weekend

clarab wrote:

My problem with it is that, in my opinion, it should be means tested, as the old rates system was - and thus based on a persons ability to pay.

I don't want to get into politics because that isnt the point of this board, but in the end its what it comes down to.

It is means-tested, isn't it? If you are on a low income you get CT Benefit.

keith_lard

In my view Council tax should be paid on a % of your income!!

FULL STOP!!!!


k.

Mike_St_Helens

seven-day-weekend wrote:

It is means-tested, isn't it? If you are on a low income you get CT Benefit.

No way Hose.... Thats the way it SHOULD be !

Mike_St_Helens

keith_lard wrote:

In my view Council tax should be paid on a % of your income!!

FULL STOP!!!!


k.

Agree - but thats too easy to decide......

seven-day-weekend

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

No way Hose.... Thats the way it SHOULD be !

My son got CT Benefit when he was on a low income - he had to pay some of it but not all.

clarab_3

seven-day-weekend wrote:

It is means-tested, isn't it? If you are on a low income you get CT Benefit.

not a chance - as an example...

An old couple retire, having worked all their lives to own their home, a 3 bed semi. Suddenly they have a hugely reduced income. However their council tax remains the same.
They are not eligable for benefit as they earn a small pension from their previous employer. So - they can sell their home they worked their whole life for and downsize, or they can stop eating to pay for the council tax.

Another example. This time our pensioners live in a east end flat. Because of rising house prices everywhere, even the east end is going through the roof. The ongoing gentrification of regions is putting up the value of houses, and thus houses are getting banded higher, and the council tax goes through the roof with it. They are pensioners, they cant really move, and their pension isnt miraculously going to go up to pay for it...

seven-day-weekend

keith_lard wrote:

In my view Council tax should be paid on a % of your income!!

FULL STOP!!!!


k.

Why? A higher earner does not get their dustbins emptied any more often than a low earner, so why should they be liable to pay more?

Yes, I think ability to pay should be a factor, but I don't think it ought to be like an income tax.

I actually thought the Poll Tax was a good idea in principal, where everybody paid something (but it should have been based more upon ability to pay than it was).

seven-day-weekend

clarab wrote:

not a chance - as an example...

An old couple retire, having worked all their lives to own their home, a 3 bed semi. Suddenly they have a hugely reduced income. However their council tax remains the same.
They are not eligable for benefit as they earn a small pension from their previous employer. So - they can sell their home they worked their whole life for and downsize, or they can stop eating to pay for the council tax.

Another example. This time our pensioners live in a east end flat. Because of rising house prices everywhere, even the east end is going through the roof. The ongoing gentrification of regions is putting up the value of houses, and thus houses are getting banded higher, and the council tax goes through the roof with it. They are pensioners, they cant really move, and their pension isnt miraculously going to go up to pay for it...

But if they have a low enough income they will get Council Tax Benefit.

oscar52

keith_lard wrote:

In my view Council tax should be paid on a % of your income!!

FULL STOP!!!!


k.

Isnt this called "income tax"

why should you pay extra still because you want/have to work.

Personal opinion, but income tax is nothing but a con as well

Mike_St_Helens

oscar52 wrote:

Isnt this called "income tax"

why should you pay extra still because you want/have to work.

Personal opinion, but income tax is nothing but a con as well

Give us an alternative ???