The Great Council Tax debate

A couple of weeks ago I found an excellent website dedicated to fighting the enormous Council Tax increases that were announced late last year, and came into effect in April. The website is www.isitfair.co.uk It was started in January, but because of poor website marketing knowledge by the originators the website sadly remains virtually unknown. Council Tax increases way and above inflation is causing misery to thousands of pensioners, middle income families and even to low paid who just fall out of receiving Council Tax benefits. Increases of Council Tax up to 45% have been recorded in the Borough of Wandsworth, London. Although a lot of work has been put into www.isitfair.co.uk their knowledge of marketing their website is not allowing the 65% of the UK on-line access to their campaign. Apart from two mentions by the media, the website remains obscure. Strangely, help and advice offered by yours truly to both their webmaster and originators has been ignored.

Paul M (aka.Sid) Editor Rip-Off Britain

Robin Hood would NOT have been amused!

The property boom may have shifted from the south to the north but it’s the south that has endured the biggest increases in council tax.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, people in London have been hardest hit, with Wandsworth, which once boasted the cheapest council tax rates in the country, increased taxes by 45%. The average increase across England is 12.9%.

The Greater London boroughs of Westminster and Croydon also increased by 28.1% and 27.3% respectively, while the residents of the Isles of Scilly will have to fork out 26.7% more. Other boroughs outside London had big increases. These include Eastbourne (23.6%), Portsmouth, Weymouth and Portland (both 20.7%) and Hastings in East Sussex (20.3%).

There is no justification for some of this year's high increases in council tax, the government has said. "Councils setting significant increases must now explain themselves to their taxpayers and, if necessary, to the government". Figures published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister show that average council tax in England will be £908 in 2003/2004, up from £804 in 2002/2003. (Click here to see table of increases - MS-Excel required)

Of course, these vast increases are not totally surprising. Local Government services are in greater demand with councils already spending more than £1bn above government guidelines on social services alone, then there's educational costs that have risen. So why is council tax going up by 12% on the average? It really depends on who you believe. Local authorities in London and the south-east say that a new finance system has redistributed money to Labour's northern heartlands at the expense of the supposedly affluent south-east. The government claims that the funding changes are being used as a smokescreen. The real reason for some of the increases, say ministers, is that some councils want to build up their financial reserves at a time when they face no elections.

Whatever the reasons one fact remains - there are 60 million people living on a small island called - RIP-OFF BRITAIN. But just wait - you ain't seen nothing yet! Come 2006/07 the Government is proposing to Re-Band all Council Tax on the NEW value of your property - I'll let you FIGURE out the consequences of that proposal!

Remember the Poll Tax? 1990 became a year of violent protests and organised demonstrations against the Government's plan for the revised rating system. This became known as the Poll Tax after the hated 13th-century Poll Tax, which had been a major cause of the Peasants' Revolt. The result in the late 20th century was a large anti-Government vote in local and by-elections. Thatcherism had been discredited and there was every sign in 1989 that she had lost control of the cabinet. Sir Geoffrey Howe had been sacked from the Foreign Office and John Major took over the role. Howe was given the job of Lord President - but only to keep him quiet. When Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor, Thatcher moved her only pawn, John Major, to the Treasury. Now in 1990, the Tory knives were sharpened. On November 1 1990, Howe resigned and his 'good-bye' speech was devastating to Thatcher's authority. Three weeks later, the Tories held a leadership election and although the PM had a majority in the first ballot, it wasn't big enough. Most of her colleagues turned on her and she was finally defeated. John Major (largely with the support of the Stop Heseltine movement) became Prime Minister, after only eleven years as an MP.

It's up to YOU

It says something about the state of our economy, poor pensions and low pay when around a quarter of all households, and almost half in band A, are in receipt of Council Tax benefit! Interestingly, 87% of all households in receipt of Council Tax benefit are in bands A to C. The very rich simply don't care.

Apart for voting for the 'other party' at the next election (who ever they may be!) PROTEST is the only other way people can show their concerns within a democracy.

The only other option is to consider moving to the Irish Republic where there is NO Council Tax - and the Guinness tastes as it should.

ANY INCREASE OVER THE INFLATION RATE IS INFLATIONARY

Based on current underlying trends, and other key indicators, I predict the NEXT economic slump in the UK will commence in the late Autumn of 2004. There will be significant downturn in manufacturing and exports, a large balance of payments deficit that will be followed by associated higher interest rates, increased taxes, increased fuel costs, large wage demands with inflation running at 5.5%