Council tax is based on one's (perceived) ability to pay, since people who have more expensive house are required to pay more than those in cheaper homes, for EXACTLY THE SAME SERVICES. Is this effectively communism? Is it fair? If so, why does it not apply to other transactions, e.g. poor people should pay less for cars, food, clothes, utilities etc? Can I suggest that if you think the Council Tax system is unfair, you write to your MP?
2006-09-28 00:39:58 · 8 answers · asked by brack706 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Civic Participation
That is wrong, ignorantly wrong, manifestly wrong. Council tax is almost as regressive as poll tax: the bands are based on outdated (1991) valuation so that the top band (H) starts at £320,000.
It's a rich man's dream tax. Not like America, where real estate taxes can be more than 10 times higher than in Britain. In areas where real estate values have risen rapidly such as suburban Washington DC, many older householders are being forced to sell up by high taxes. That can't happen in Britain where not only does the tax not rise dramatically (although that may change next year) but there are means-tested benefits available.
2006-09-28 00:44:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I live in a rented council flat and my Council Tax Band is higher than council properties in other areas. We all need to pay Council Tax in order to fund public services. What I find really annoying is that in my area, there are loads of people claiming benefit (and so council tax benefit) and working a fiddle. Much of the council tax paid goes to fund the council tax benefits of those who pretend not to work and therefore do not have to pay. The worst part of all though is that Local Authorities these days have to pay out so much in compensation that not enough money goes into providing public services. I know loads of people who have had large compensation payouts from the Council and it has been a deliberate scam. I know of one person who had a fight and beat up a young kid. He then went a took a photo of a pot hole near the local shops - he got in touch with the Council and reported that he had tripped on the pothole and damaged his fist and was awarded several thousand pounds in compensation which he used to buy a sports car which he now drives (at really high speeds) around the estate where he lives with no tax or insurance. He deals several drugs in the evenings which is quite lucrative for him (his Dad, a local dealer, set him up with his own drug round when he turned 18). This guy has now got a job as a grass cutter with the local Council, but is at present on long-term sick leave while he does a cash-in-hand fiddle for a local builder. This is just one person defrauding the Local Authority - imagine how many others there are like this all over the UK. This is why Council Tax is so expensive. These people are not just defrauding the Local Authority - they are actually indirectly stealing money from everybody who lives in the local authority's area.
2006-09-28 00:58:14 · answer #2 · answered by debbie t 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd never thought of it as communism but you have a point. I have to pay £148 a month. I live alone in a small 2 bedroom bungalow, crime rate nil up here as there are only 4 houses so don't need the police, don't have and don't want street lights, don't use the library, kid's grown up and left home so no need for schools, so as far as I am concerned, the £148 is to get my bin emptied once a week and I'd happily take my stuff to the waste disposal place each week rather than pay the council tax.
2006-09-28 00:51:21 · answer #3 · answered by Ladyfromdrum 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a type of income tax or that is the point of it. William Pitt actually came up with its precursor during the Napoleonic wars to help pay for the campaigns on the continent. He used a tax based on the number of Windows a house had. He also invented the National debt.
2006-09-28 00:52:06 · answer #4 · answered by LongJohns 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a stupid corrupt system. I don't agree with you about people's ability to pay, it does'nt completely function that way. I have friends who live in sheltered housing, and friends who live in small masonettes in town who pay exactly the same as friends I have who live in four bedroom detached homes. I know young people fresh from college/uni looking for work on jobseekers who pay the same as a friend in a house across the street from them who is a civil servant. It's all a mess and seems to have nothing to do with people's circumstances and incomes. Much like student loans and fees which are putting young people in debt before they have a chance to finish their studies. The UK is a mess.
2006-09-28 16:11:25 · answer #5 · answered by Calamity Jane 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were to take out poor people paying less and the richer paying more in their taxes it would create a big distance between the upper and lower class and would make us the same as other third world countries bcos no1 would be helping each other and it would be every man for himself, resulting in poverty, and we would again have higher discrimination within status.
2006-09-28 00:43:13 · answer #6 · answered by laydeeheartless 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Council tax is NOT based on one's ability to pay, it is based on the size of the dwelling, and in which area the dwelling is.
Certain people (eg students) get discounts, and people on benefits get it discounted or written off.
I suggest you get your facts right before mouthing off about something you don't really understand.
2006-09-28 00:42:17 · answer #7 · answered by shoby_shoby2003 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It's a rip off
2006-09-28 00:42:24 · answer #8 · answered by little_friend 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋