Axe the Tax!
Council Tax is totally unfair

says Alex Perkins, Liberal Democrat Canterbury City Council Leader

Axe the tax! How crazy is it to have a tax so unfair that it expects a fifty-something year old single woman, who has no car and lives on a low income, to pay exactly the same amount as her neighbours do between them – even though there are six of them and they all have cars and high paid jobs?

Obviously it’s not fair at all! Sadly however it is a reality. It is called Council tax – and it’s time we axed it!

It is bad enough that your local council only gets about 12% of the money you pay in local council tax – without the method of collection being so unfair as well. There has to be a better system. One which is fair to everyone and recognises the ability to pay. It’s time we all did something about it!

The last Conservative government must take the blame for introducing the unfair Council Tax. But to be honest the current Labour government have made the situation even worse.

Council tax has risen by 70% since this government came to power and the continued increases are hitting those on low and modest incomes. This is because the government continue year on year to pass more and more duties and targets to local councils – but often do not pass on the cash they have raised through income tax.

Several groups, including the Liberal Democrats, are lobbying the government to try and get major reform of the current daft local government finance system – including a Local Income Tax to replace the unfair council tax system.

I see this as a very very important issue for those on low incomes - and the facts back that up. The unfairness of Council Tax now means that the poorest –20% of pensioners pay nearly 6 times more than the richest 20% of non-pensioners, as a proportion of their income.

In Canterbury the local City Council is required to collect all the Council tax from everyone in the district. 88% of it however goes straight to Kent County Council to pay for things like roads and pavements and to the police to pay for the Kent Constabulary. Most people think the police are paid for by central government. But more and more the money the police require to do a good job comes out of your council tax.

The other thing we want to sort out is the Business rate. Although local businesses pay over £32 million in business rates that goes straight out of the district too. So essentially this daft system, that pays nearly all of the business rate to Kent County Council in addition to the £42million they get of your Council tax, means there is no money in the local pot to help the local businesses that made the place prosperous in the first place.

Ask anyone and they will say the same thing. Council tax is desperately unfair and the system as a whole, which sees Kent County Council given £76 million of your districts locally raised taxes this year while the city council only gets £10.8 million to actually spend within the district, is just crazy.

So please – write to your MP’s, to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Tell it to Radio Kent, Five-live, Nicky Campbell and the local government ombudsman. Tell the whole world. The Council Tax system is totally unfair and we have had enough. It’s time for you to act.

See also :
The great government council tax swindle
The LibDem campaign to Axe the Tax
Council Tax system in permanent crisis (Edward Davey MP)
One-off grant settlements no substitute for action (Chris Clarke OBE)