Vague_Boy Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Councils in a pickle Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is right to say that councils must hold a referendum before raising council taxes by more than 3.5 per cent. Under Labour, average council tax doubled in real terms, as more of the central state’s overspending was loaded on to local taxpayers. The increase was exacerbated by wasteful practices and the creation of thousands of non-jobs in local government. In difficult economic circumstances, the Coalition has found the money to help councils freeze their taxes for two successive years. The sum set aside for this year is £675 million – more than enough to cushion councils that are prepared to cut their cloth to avoid further tax rises. But some councils have failed to get the message and are planning to increase taxes come what may. So Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, yesterday announced that any local authority intending to raise tax by more than 3.5 per cent must ask local people to endorse the move in a referendum. LINK With official inflation at 5% and real inflation north of 6% UK Inflation CPI 4%, RPI 5.1%, Real 6.6%, Pressure Building on Wage Price Spiral 3.5% isn't even enough to stand still. Still, it should be interesting to see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 LINK With official inflation at 5% and real inflation north of 6% UK Inflation CPI 4%, RPI 5.1%, Real 6.6%, Pressure Building on Wage Price Spiral 3.5% isn't even enough to stand still. Unless, of course, the Government is giving the council extra money to offset the lack of a tax rise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrod Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 It would be far better to freeze council tax but raise council house rents above inflation for a few years. Cities like Sheffield struggle to balance their books because of the inordinate amount of social housng they have - those tenants have had rent subsidised by property owners' rates and council tax for too long and need to pay their way more. In fact, taking it a step further, wouldn't an individual poll tax be a great way to fairly solve local taxation?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Chem1st will be along in a second to tell you that there is far too little social housing Sheffield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 The councils could always stop flushing money down the toilet that should save a few quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sausage Dog Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 LINK With official inflation at 5% and real inflation north of 6% UK Inflation CPI 4%, RPI 5.1%, Real 6.6%, Pressure Building on Wage Price Spiral 3.5% isn't even enough to stand still. Still, it should be interesting to see what happens. It's just more populist nonesense from Pickles. Council tax only raises about 20% of what councils spend - most of their budget comes from general taxation, which is controlled by the government. More to the point, councils don't have mich choice over what they spend, as most of it goes on things like looking after vulnerable elderly and disabled people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 It's just more populist nonesense from Pickles. Council tax only raises about 20% of what councils spend Then there's even less reason for them to hike it up, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sausage Dog Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Then there's even less reason for them to hike it up, no? If government is deliberately holding back what councils can spend (in the name of austerity) then raising council tax is one of the few ways a council can bring in additional money. The other choices are to cut spending or find money from elsewhere - things like charges for car parking. Council tax is unfair, because it is a regressive tax, like VAT (which the Tories love to out up), so it would be better to just fund councils out of general taxation (by increasing income tax) and cut out all the bureaucracy involved in the collection of council tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 It's a good idea, especially if Labour get back, it'd stop them from turning us into a communist state again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sausage Dog Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 It's a good idea, especially if Labour get back, it'd stop them from turning us into a communist state again... Can you define communist, or is it jsut a word you like to throw around, in the same way others on here call anyone from the right a fascist or a racist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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