Where's the petition for No! to Council Tax

longforgotten

I think Council Tax is so unfair. The article in the Mail today is saying we'll be paying more for the view, the garden, close to public transport, god knows what else. It sounds like you can live in a shed and still have to pay a bomb just because it's in the countryside, or in what 'they' consider a good spot !

Your home has nothing to do with your ability to pay. What about the people on fixed incomes and the council tax has gone up so much.

I think Council Tax is the unfairest tax I can think of. Why isn't more fuss made about it ?

tarinilie

I think it's a great tax - there's been a property based tax for nearly 400 years apart from Thatcher's poll tax of the early 90s which lead to the worst riots seen in London.
It's not a tax on goods or services which is easily evaded.
That rubbish in the Daily Mail is typical lies and scaremongering - if they're not going on about house prices or immigrants it's some other pack of lies.

Of course a view/amenities/location is taken into account - the tax is based on the capital value of the house - doh - it's been the same since the tories brought it in.

ManAtHome

Why is it unfair to be taxed on an asset that many people paying income tax cannot now afford?

I'm allright Jack, pull up the drawbridge time?

Savings tax is much more unfair than property taxes - if you graft and put your money in savings you get taxed, bung in "my house is my castle and great-unwashed can cough up if they want somewhere to live" and it's all a freebie (until you have to pay your dues of course...).

RayWolfe

longforgotten wrote: »

The article in the Mail today is saying we'll be paying more for the view, the garden, close to public transport, god knows what else.

Classic Mail rubbish, as usual!
You have always paid for the view, the garden etc., etc. ... if it puts up the value of your house you will be in a higher bracket. Was so with rates, is so with council tax.
I suspect the Mail is starting yet another crusade ... what an unhappy paper it is. No wonder its readers are so depressed.

Andy_L

If your going to have a local tax based on the value of your property rather than your ability to pay (I feel this is the arguing point) why should it be shared among the community based on a 16(?) year old valuation?

ManAtHome

Council tax is pretty much the same as the pre-Poll tax Rates, only based on capital values rather than rental value. Plan was to revalue every 10 years, but that costs a few quid so they just carry on upping the percentages.

Was the same with the rates by the way - just after a revaluation, percentages payable dropped then crept up again, often going over 100%. Was expressed on bills as "pence in the pound of Rateable value", so you'd occasionally end up paying £1.25 in the pound... With the rates, you could have every house in a street paying a different amount - was generally based on floor-space with extras for central heating, garages, gardens (and probably a few other things I've forgotten).

Revaluations were never done individually, but used a multiplier based on postcode. Would have been a doddle with computers, but in the early 70s it was heaps of people with pens and look-up tables - oh happy days...

[edited] - don't think we even had (electronic) calculators then - just one or two mechanical calculating thingies.

longforgotten

ok so I should have said I disagree with being taxed on your home, whether its rates, poll tax or council tax. The same size house can be owned by people on the bread line or millionaires, and the council tax be the same.

I just don't get it how that can be fair.

RayWolfe

Yea.
Life's a !!!!!, then you die ... then there's IHT ... don't think the Mail likes that either!

tarinilie

Andy_L wrote: »

If your going to have a local tax based on the value of your property rather than your ability to pay (I feel this is the arguing point) why should it be shared among the community based on a 16(?) year old valuation?

sure I'm all for a Revaluation.

They didn't do commercial/ domestic revaluation between 1973 and 1990 and now they've being doing them ( commercial) every 5 years.

17 years does seem a long time to wait between revals.

Funny that the govt postponed it when bills would have been coming through the door now as Blair steps down and Brown ? takes over !

The Lyons report due out in next few weeks should suggest something and whether they retain a property based valuation, increase VAT, income tax - who knows.

My bet is a bit of all three - especially to keep the pensioners happy - let's face it they have been clobbered with CT rises but on the other hand why don't they downsize or take the equity out of their 'unearnt' income.??

Who knows what the tories would do if they get in, as there certainly won't be a CT reval this parliament.

andym765

The main problem with council tax is most of the bands are out. If we dont pay council tax theyll make up a similar tax its pretty fair tbh. The mail is full of rubbish as someone said your already paying for your few etc by the valuation band! The fact the bandings have not been revalued and the rises makes it seem unfair the system itself is pretty good as taxing goes

Also pensioners cant just expect tax to stop as they are retired! the benefits system is also there for a reason if they are really struggling they would be elligable. And the reason most arnt elligable is because they have over 16,000 of savings

longforgotten

I just cannot believe it ! You must either be young, got pots of money or 'townies' !