council tax and single people...

[VIRII]

The system is geared to families and not couples I agree. However, surely you must be better off living as a couple than living as a single person. I know if I was part of a couple my living costs would go down a fair amount (not by 50% but they would be markedly less).

As for the council tax side of things, I'm definitely getting less of 'my monies worth' than other people get out of it. No tax though is going to be totally fair really. Probably only income tax is relatively fair. Instead though they choose to tax us with lots of individual taxes so we don't really see how much tax we are paying. I would be interested to know how they came up with the magical 25% less figure.

How is it geared to working families? If you were part of a working couple and fell pregnant in what way would things be geared to help you?
The system is geared so that you are better off being a couple, affording a house otherwise is impossible, however if you want a family how do you cope financially with childcare or a year out of work or going down to one salary?

Workers are being forced into a corner where they have to choose between families and a semi decent standard of living. Single mums certainly have a better time of that if they are the non working, bang out kids every year kind, such as several down the road from me.

 

[kitten_caboodle]

The system is geared to families and not couples I agree. However, surely you must be better off living as a couple than living as a single person. I know if I was part of a couple my living costs would go down a fair amount (not by 50% but they would be markedly less).

As for the council tax side of things, I'm definitely getting less of 'my monies worth' than other people get out of it. No tax though is going to be totally fair really. Probably only income tax is relatively fair. Instead though they choose to tax us with lots of individual taxes so we don't really see how much tax we are paying. I would be interested to know how they came up with the magical 25% less figure.

You're totally right, but I was talking specifically about what the government does for me in comparison to when I was single, and that's pretty much nothing

Of course, when you couple up, you take on their debts/commitments too, so it doesn't always work out better. My friend for example has now had her earnings taken into consideration when her husbands CSA claim came through, so now she has 2 kids with him and due to the mortgage and other commitments they had (they weren't aware of this child until very recently) they now don't have enough to meet the mortgage payments and are actually worse off than she was before she met him . And they are good people who have just tried to do things the right way and pay for their responsibilities. Bizzare state of affairs.

 

[VIRII]

You're totally right, but I was talking specifically about what the government does for me in comparison to when I was single, and that's pretty much nothing

Of course, when you couple up, you take on their debts/commitments too, so it doesn't always work out better. My friend for example has now had her earnings taken into consideration when her husbands CSA claim came through, so now she has 2 kids with him and due to the mortgage and other commitments they had (they weren't aware of this child until very recently) they now don't have enough to meet the mortgage payments and are actually worse off than she was before she met him . And they are good people who have just tried to do things the right way and pay for their responsibilities. Bizzare state of affairs.

I don't understand your example. I take it she has a new partner now?

 

[Muban]

How is it geared to working families? If you were part of a working couple and fell pregnant in what way would things be geared to help you?
The system is geared so that you are better off being a couple, affording a house otherwise is impossible, however if you want a family how do you cope financially with childcare or a year out of work or going down to one salary?

Workers are being forced into a corner where they have to choose between families and a semi decent standard of living. Single mums certainly have a better time of that if they are the non working, bang out kids every year kind, such as several down the road from me.

I believe I said it was geared to families, not working families. Having a family these days is a luxury - please note I do not think this is a good thing. I could get into a long debate, however, I am currently not up to it. It's also taking us away from the council tax issue.

 

[basmic]

it uses 50% of the cleaning (waste), the police get only £53 of the total council tax, the fire brigade gets only £23, the remaining £683 goes to the city. also it should be noted that im in a 1 bedroom flat in a high rise run down hell hole of a block paying the same ammount as a 3 bedroomed house in the next area over.

Fair enough.

But I've seen houses be converted to houses, and the council asks for council tax per flat.

Not council tax / # of flats

 

[VIRII]

I believe I said it was geared to families, not working families. Having a family these days is a luxury - please note I do not think this is a good thing. I could get into a long debate, however, I am currently not up to it. It's also taking us away from the council tax issue.

I agree that it is geared towards single mums and dole scrounger families, but it is killing the workers and making families almost impossible for many.

 

[VIRII]

Fair enough.

But I've seen houses be converted to houses, and the council asks for council tax per flat.

Not council tax / # of flats

Council tax isn't just about your domicile, it is about all the local services that you have access to. Street cleaning and lighting, police, swimming pools, theatres etc, etc, etc.

 

[VeNT]

when was the last time you say a police man?

its been over a year for me now, and I meen a real police man, not the ones that can't atcualy arrest people etc.

not even when my car was broken into did I see one.

 

[kitten_caboodle]

I don't understand your example. I take it she has a new partner now?

No sorry. She was single. She met her partner and they married. They had two children. They bought a house.

Then, the CSA contact them and a child that he had no knowledge of has been brought to their attention. Transpires child is his although he had no knowledge that she'd had said child.
.
So, when working out payments - she had to declare her earnings to the CSA. Now with the payments taken out, they have less money than they had before, or planned for, so they are struggling to make the mortgage payments. So she is worse off than she was before she met him.

That make more sense?

 

[kitten_caboodle]

when was the last time you say a police man?

its been over a year for me now, and I meen a real police man, not the ones that can't atcualy arrest people etc.

not even when my car was broken into did I see one.

I see one quite often. But the he is my stepdad

 

[Von Smallhausen]

when was the last time you say a police man?

its been over a year for me now, and I meen a real police man, not the ones that can't atcualy arrest people etc.

not even when my car was broken into did I see one.

Where do you live ? The wildereness ?

Thats a long time not to see a rozzer.

 

[VIRII]

when was the last time you say a police man?

I've seen loads of them recently around Watford and Hemel. It has been making me wonder if something funny is going on.

 

[VeNT]

Council tax isn't just about your domicile, it is about all the local services that you have access to. Street cleaning and lighting, police, swimming pools, theatres etc, etc, etc.

what street cleaning, theres been non down my way EVER
lighting? non here ta
no police that I've seen (I know they do other work too, but it would be nice for there to be one in town once in a blue moon)
Swimming pool? yeah, £10 a go
theatres? how does my TAX pay for that?

 

[VIRII]

Where do you live ? The wildereness ?

Thats a long time not to see a rozzer.

Hehehe, if you want to see a copper try speeding slightly, there'll be 20 of them all over you in seconds.

 

[basmic]

Council tax isn't just about your domicile, it is about all the local services that you have access to. Street cleaning and lighting, police, swimming pools, theatres etc, etc, etc.

So you're saying the second a house is converted to flats, the street instantly requires more cleaning, lighting, and social facilities?

If a block of 24 flats was built, I could understand. But converting a house into 3 flats I can't.

 

[VIRII]

No sorry. She was single. She met her partner and they married. They had two children. They bought a house.

Then, the CSA contact them and a child that he had no knowledge of has been brought to their attention. Transpires child is his although he had no knowledge that she'd had said child.
.
So, when working out payments - she had to declare her earnings to the CSA. Now with the payments taken out, they have less money than they had before, or planned for, so they are struggling to make the mortgage payments. So she is worse off than she was before she met him.

That make more sense?

Yup

 

[VIRII]

So you're saying the second a house is converted to flats, the street instantly requires more cleaning, lighting, and social facilities?

If a block of 24 flats was built, I could understand. But converting a house into 3 flats I can't.

I am saying that council tax is not about the house per se but the people.
3 people should contribute towards education, schools, roads, hospitals, swimming pools, leisure facilities etc 3x more than 1 person.

I personally think council tax is pants and poll tax is fair. If the flats are empty then how can they cost the council a penny? So bring back poll tax and scrap this house tax.

 

[VIRII]

what street cleaning, theres been non down my way EVER
lighting? non here ta
no police that I've seen (I know they do other work too, but it would be nice for there to be one in town once in a blue moon)
Swimming pool? yeah, £10 a go
theatres? how does my TAX pay for that?

If you're not getting value for money (who is) then you need to contact your council and start demanding it. I know that I have been a royal PIA to our local and parish councils to get road repairs, tree cutting, hedge trimming, pavement repair, kids playground upgrades etc done. Slowly but surely our little group of residents has made a difference by harrassing the council to do the things we pay them for.

Your local theatres are probably council funded at least some sort of grant anyway.

£10 for a swim? I'd love to know where, got a link?

Police - again constant pressure on the council got us back our village bobby.

 

[Goberpiles316]

Well I work for the local council in cleansing, and from memory the contract we pay works out that each house in Arun pays £1 per week to cover street cleansing, refuse and recycling collection.

Thats 100,000 properties.

I suspect that if you were asked to take your rubbish to the tip yourself and were charged a tipping away fee it would be a lot higher.

I know its all material, the tv licence sucks, council tax sucks, but if it wasnt council tax it would be something else.

Just out of interest if they gave you a choice of not paying council tax but you had to dispose of your own rubbish and live on dirty street's how many of us would stop paying, people hate a dirty area and I have heard a lot of complaints the past 2-3 months, everyone seems to think that everything is the councils fault, that dog craping outside your house, its the councils fault, not the owners, the fact that their is a dog bin 5 metres away doesnt matter.

Something has to gove, landfill is getting smaller and people dont want runnish burned, some people dont want to recycle, jesus I have had people complain about the colour of the free bin given to them.

 

[VeNT]

If you're not getting value for money (who is) then you need to contact your council and start demanding it. I know that I have been a royal PIA to our local and parish councils to get road repairs, tree cutting, hedge trimming, pavement repair, kids playground upgrades etc done. Slowly but surely our little group of residents has made a difference by harrassing the council to do the things we pay them for.

Your local theatres are probably council funded at least some sort of grant anyway.

£10 for a swim? I'd love to know where, got a link?

Police - again constant pressure on the council got us back our village bobby.

closest pool is a hotel one, its nice tho.
theres one other pool thats linked to the lesure center that costs £5 but last time I was there I vowed never to go back, its a death trap I'm sure, and 90% of the cubicals/lockers don't have doors on em.


also re tip, its about 10 miles from here, it would be MORE RELIABLE to take it myself (hell I've got a trailer I could use too), the bins (supposedly) are taken once a week on wednesdays,
but alas that green wheely bin that the councle told me was the right one is infact too big, so they leave the last two bags in the bin!

the recyclings worse, it says they take milk bottles, coke bottles etc, but I got a nasty letter from them saying that they don't.

we've never had street gritted when it snowed or cleaned when it was dirty