Council Tax Petition

Joatmon

This week's Tonight programme exposed one of the many flaws in the council tax system. Over the recent years there have been calls for the present system to be abolished and replaced with a fairer system, that is based on a person's ability to pay rather than the value of the property that they live in.

There is at present an e-petition on No 10 Downing Street website to this effect. For those of you who would agree with this basic priciple of 'ability to pay', please will you visit and sign the petition:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/FAIRCOUNCILTAX/

RayWolfe

First post. Is this SPAM? Is this moneysaving?

tarinilie

Joatmon wrote:

This week's Tonight programme exposed one of the many flaws in the council tax system. Over the recent years there have been calls for the present system to be abolished and replaced with a fairer system, that is based on a person's ability to pay rather than the value of the property that they live in.

There is at present an e-petition on No 10 Downing Street website to this effect. For those of you who would agree with this basic priciple of 'ability to pay', please will you visit and sign the petition:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/FAIRCOUNCILTAX/

looks like spam -

Is this site about changing tax legislation or money saving?

Perhaps the poster could give views on what system would be fairer - I'd certainly be worse off if there was a local income tax.

Mrs._M_7

Both. Council tax in its present form can never be fair Visit https://www.isitfair.co.uk and see fairer ways of funding Local Government. The Tonight program made the point even clearer, a tax based on property values is wrong. The Government must remove the present unaffordable and uncollectable tax and install something based on the ability to pay from income.
So yes sign the petition and show your support for this campaign

Joatmon

I can assure everyone that this is not spam, nor is it about LIT.
If you visit the website that Mrs M refers to and look at:

http://www.isitfair.co.uk/webdownloads.asp

it explains here how a fairer system could be implemented. Your personal circumstances will determine whether you would be better off, not the value of the property you live in. There is also an online calculator so that you can see what the cost would be, and compare this with your current CT bill (save this first and then run it from your PC). Finally, there is also a users forum if you would like to debate the subject further.

tarinilie

sure I take your point, and your right to it, but I don't think this site is about changing tax legislation.

Isn't it about money savings?

Sure you have your own views. You might be a pensioner living in a huge house with a low income and consequently you buy fewer vatable goods.
Sure you'll be better off.

But many hard working families would be worse off with kids, small houses and dual incomes.
You have to rob Peter to pay Paul.
I would be!

In other words I don't think your comments are about money saving!

Personally I would rather encourage people out of big houses into small dwellings when they cannot afford upkeep.


In fact a property tax is one of the fairest and easiest to collect.
Tax on people and goods is much easier to evade, evidenced in smuggling and the black/grey economy.

We've had a property based tax on domestic dwellings in some form, since 1601, except for a short period in the early 1990s with riotous consequences!

Sure I would consider an increase on vat , especially on luxury items, but I feel an overdue and accurate CT dwelling revaluation is necessary- with a greater proportion of higher bands- that would be the 'best money saving'.