Council Tax

[Zenduri]

OP should just pay his taxes and stop trying to avoid them. If it bothers you such much, become a freeman of the land and surrender your rights to local services (police, Fire service, Bin collection etc)

I would love to spend £80 a month on other things (live alone so get the discount) but i still suck it up and pay it

 

[estebanrey]

The house now empty uses 0 services, how can a private property that's empty use services?

Do the street lights still work outside the house (providing security against vandals/burglars/squatters)? Is the street is sits on still cleaned? If the house were to catch fire would you still expect the fire brigade to come and put it out? If squatters broke in would you expect the local police to kick them out?

Furthermore we shouldn't be encouraging people to hoard housing and leave them empty so forcing people to continue paying council tax on residential buildings they own (regardless of whether anyone lives there) helps that cause.

 

[Cold_And_Miserable]

Do the street lights still work outside the house (providing security against vandals/burglars/squatters)? Is the street is sits on still cleaned? If the house were to catch fire would you still expect the fire brigade to come and put it out? If squatters broke in would you expect the local police to kick them out?

Furthermore we shouldn't be encouraging people to hoard housing and leave them empty so forcing people to continue paying council tax on residential buildings they own (regardless of whether anyone lives there) helps that cause.

Pointless argument.

It's already common knowledge only a tiny fraction of council tax actually pays for things that are remotely useful to homeowners.

1/3, maybe more, goes to the gold plated council pensions. I suspect most goes to social care/housing and prioritising immigrants.

Street lights are turned off from midnight to 7, rubbish collection is constantly under threat of being cut back, roads aren't maintained, fibre internet is stonewalled by planning permission instead of being invested in or encouraged. I see very poor value for money for those in higher tax bands.

 

[Ceryndrion]

Do the street lights still work outside the house (providing security against vandals/burglars/squatters)? Is the street is sits on still cleaned? If the house were to catch fire would you still expect the fire brigade to come and put it out? If squatters broke in would you expect the local police to kick them out?

Let me see now, street lights, on a private road, are covered by my rent, and not part of the council jurisdiction. The same can be said for the street itself, which as mentioned, is private, and again, not covered by the local council. Which they love to point out, especially when it snows, as "not their problem".

I'll give you the fire brigade and police, but around here, that is an added tax which is put ontop of council tax (pretty sure it is even listed as "City Council + Police + Combined Fire Authority" ).

One good thing I suppose, is that the dirty doley types, are forced to pay 10% of their council tax, no matter what benefit they are on, and that is set to increase in april to 20%..

 

[bitslice]

No it isn't, you are referring to the bit that got added after he started getting slated. He quite clearly stated "What will happen if I continue to ignore my Council Tax bill or refuse to pay it?.

That is clearly a rhetorical question, as in the next paragraph he provides the answer.

What do you think is going on, that he can't pay a bill so is petitioning the government to let him off? Seriously?

Lol, GD



/

 

[estebanrey]

Pointless argument.

It's already common knowledge only a tiny fraction of council tax actually pays for things that are remotely useful to homeowners.

That's because you are only looking at things that directly benefit you personally and forgetting that having a functioning society around you is also a benefit even if the money isn't being spent directly on your household.

Would you rather live somewhere with social housing or one with a massive homeless problem for example? You may not think building a council block of flats directly benefits you but it does.

1/3, maybe more, goes to the gold plated council pensions. I suspect most goes to social care/housing and prioritising immigrants.

Where are your figures coming from? I work for a local authority so I'll check out our spending but anyway, don't private companies have pension obligations? You do know that everything you buy, the company selling it to you will add a penny here or there to cover their pension schemes?

Besides I seem to be paying quite a bit of my wage into the Local Government Pension scheme so it's certainly not all coming from people's council tax.

As for a lot of CT being spent on social care/housing is correct but I've covered why that isn't a bad idea above.

Street lights are turned off from midnight to 7

Not where I live they don't. You can take something a handful of councils have done and pretend it's standard policy of all of them.

, rubbish collection is constantly under threat of being cut back

Where? Not where I live and that is the very industry I work in. If anything rubbish collections have become a lot more complex and expansive. 10 years ago we'd come round once a week and pick up your black bags. Now we come round once a week, fortnightly for refuse and food waste and the other fortnightly for recycling, garden and food waste all with their own bins which householders get for free.

Legally, we are responsible for collecting your landfill, so they'd have to change the law to cut back the most basic of collections.

fibre internet is stonewalled by planning permission instead of being invested in or encouraged.

So you'd happily see people living on the streets so long as the Council come round and make your broadband go from very fast to extremely fast?

 

[jrwagh333]

Reply from the Chair and leading barrister of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers - http://www.haldane.org

‘The New Poll Tax’ – 12th December 2013 :–

“The abolition of council tax benefit is every bit as disgraceful as the hated bedroom tax – but has yet to hit the media headlines. LIZ DAVIES explains why it will be so damaging.

The government's assault on the poor includes abolishing council tax benefit. This is just as pernicious as the bedroom tax but has received less publicity. It came in on May 1…

In place of council tax benefit, the government introduced a "council tax-reduction scheme." The name suggests lower council tax bills. It is nothing of the sort. It is simply a subsidy from government to local authorities to replace council tax benefit… The government's intention is to blame local authorities for this cut.

By simply giving local authorities a pot of money equivalent to 80 per cent of the amount that they used to receive in council tax benefit, it can claim that if local authorities pass the 20 per cent shortfall onto each council taxpayer, that is their choice…

In many ways, this is the new poll tax. Its aim is that everyone, even the poorest, should contribute to council tax…

Garden Court Chambers, where I work, has launched Legal Action on Council Tax.
Our website contains detailed legal information as to how to appeal to a valuation tribunal and what happens when you are summonsed to the magistrate's court.

No legal aid is available and so applicants have to represent themselves. Our hope is that the dissemination of information will give applicants the tools to make the argument and do just that.

Perhaps the best hope is that, like the poll tax, the collecting authorities and the courts will become so overwhelmed that government has to give in.” http://goo.gl/5nuQ4e

Please sign and share the E-petition to Change the Law @

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/57160/signature/new

to Stop being put in Jail for not being able to afford to pay Council Tax.

 

[estebanrey]

to Stop being put in Jail for not being able to afford to pay Council Tax.

How many times have people told you that people don't go to prison for not being able to "afford" their CT? They get put away for refusing to pay it.

If they genuinely can't pay (and that means not spending money on booze, fags and Sky first) they get help and affordable payment plans.

You keep wanting to peddle this myth that some poor guy whose just been made redundant will have the police knocking on the door the day after his CT is due.

 

[Jokester]

Reply from the Chair and leading barrister of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers - http://www.haldane.org

What do you mean reply? You've lifted this straight off the Morning Star website:-

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-dbd4-The-new-poll-tax#.Usr9yk3xq5M

 

[TheDesX77]

Reply from the Chair and leading barrister of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers - http://www.haldane.org

‘The New Poll Tax’ – 12th December 2013 :–

“The abolition of council tax benefit is every bit as disgraceful as the hated bedroom tax – but has yet to hit the media headlines. LIZ DAVIES explains why it will be so damaging.

The government's assault on the poor includes abolishing council tax benefit. This is just as pernicious as the bedroom tax but has received less publicity. It came in on May 1…

In place of council tax benefit, the government introduced a "council tax-reduction scheme." The name suggests lower council tax bills. It is nothing of the sort. It is simply a subsidy from government to local authorities to replace council tax benefit… The government's intention is to blame local authorities for this cut.

By simply giving local authorities a pot of money equivalent to 80 per cent of the amount that they used to receive in council tax benefit, it can claim that if local authorities pass the 20 per cent shortfall onto each council taxpayer, that is their choice…

In many ways, this is the new poll tax. Its aim is that everyone, even the poorest, should contribute to council tax…

Garden Court Chambers, where I work, has launched Legal Action on Council Tax.
Our website contains detailed legal information as to how to appeal to a valuation tribunal and what happens when you are summonsed to the magistrate's court.

No legal aid is available and so applicants have to represent themselves. Our hope is that the dissemination of information will give applicants the tools to make the argument and do just that.

Perhaps the best hope is that, like the poll tax, the collecting authorities and the courts will become so overwhelmed that government has to give in.” http://goo.gl/5nuQ4e

Please sign and share the E-petition to Change the Law @

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/57160/signature/new

to Stop being put in Jail for not being able to afford to pay Council Tax.

What do you mean reply? You've lifted this straight off the Morning Star website:-

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-dbd4-The-new-poll-tax#.Usr9yk3xq5M

Do you really expect people to sign your petition when you're lying about the source of your arguments? If you can find an article from the past year documenting a case where someone was arrested and couldn't have paid their tax even if they had given up all their luxuries, then I will consider signing.

 

[HAz]

How many times have people told you that people don't go to prison for not being able to "afford" their CT? They get put away for refusing to pay it.

Which is basically what he is a cant be bother wont pay it person.

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

Yea pay ya damn bills like the rest of us or join the freeloaders.

Many freeloaders in Torquay, so I can understand your anger

 

[badcompany]

£162 a month for what?

 

[DAnDan]

£162 a month for what?

£162 worth of coconuts?

 

[badcompany]

Local council sold local sports centre built 3900 new homes so loads of new revenue yet still they don't seem to spend anything. But I do remember something about them buying some expensive paintings a few years back,lol

 

[estebanrey]

£162 a month for what?

Local services such as planning, transport, highways, police, fire, libraries, leisure and recreation, rubbish collection and disposal, environmental health and trading standards.

 

[C64]

We need a big shakeup in the councils all the people that actually do any work are working for agencies for minimum wage.
We are paying for council office workers overpaid salaries and pensions as well as flexitime countless sick days without the risk of ever being sacked not to mention countless other benefits they probably get like discounted housing travel london weighting the list goes on and on.

Sounds harsh but at the end of the day inputting data in to a computer is not a heroic act worthy of gold plated pensions.
It's just always struck me that the people who actually do any work in the council are the lowest paid of the lot.

 

[PeterNem]

Pay peanuts, get monkeys. My experiences of dealing with council office workers (thankfully rarely) certainly haven't been anything short of lacklustre... The problem is, to get something better than the mundane 50-something council office worker lifer you'd need to pay significantly better remuneration.

Also, adding back your original post:

I can tell from this thread that a lot of people are lucky to be on a decent salary there are people out there working their asses off that have to decide between eating and paying council tax it's not an exaggeration.It's fine when your on more than about 16k a year but much below that is a real struggle.

So that I can point out that it's you're

 

[Cold_And_Miserable]

So you'd happily see people living on the streets so long as the Council come round and make your broadband go from very fast to extremely fast?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=25543387&postcount=16

I live on the richest street in the village and everyone on the street pays high tax, the rest of the village is council houses who get 80mbit, so I went nuts when I learned this, that the people paying for benefits get 2mbit when the people on benefits get 80mbit hah.
Pleased with my connection now but obviously it still sucks when you pay tax and get half the speed that the people who leech off society get!

The council should simply make fibre free from planning permission and ignore any objections from residents.

 

[BunnyKillBot]

Council tax is a flat rate tax that means nothing to the rich and allot to the poor and it has no place in a modern society. The real issue here is the disgrace of an overcomplicated tax system we have in place that puts taxes on taxes on taxes. There are plenty of pressure groups seeking tax reform, and while there is some awareness it is moving so blooming slow, while real people are suffering on the ground.

But then that is the way of old blighty