Council tax

Agree totally unfair -las shoukd get their act together re this issue anD not allow this ( in some cases) opaque system to continue.

Living on a boat. Found this...

“In having no official residence they are not liable for council tax. The official word is that they should pay if their boat is their main residence, but in practice only boaters with a permanent mooring – and a permanent address – are expected to pay up. Currently they are within Band A, the lowest band.29 Dec 2018”

It does not make any sense, does it?

Flipping heck - this explains it all - lots of grey areas. Yet another reason why council tax is rubbish
www.livingonaboat.co.uk/paying-taxes-if-you-live-boat.html

boat I too am amazed - my understanding is that a narrow boat that is residential attracts council tax and so it should. Of course you use council services as Charley says and anyway, with council tax and income tax we all pay towards services we don’t directly use. Tax isn’t about paying just for what you use

boat I am amazed you do not pay any council tax. You walk on the streets, have use of street lighting etc. What happens to your rubbish and the effluent from the barge?

What’s happening is that Wirral ( and other councils) lend to councils. The rates are usually above bank rate and of course the loan is very safe. Whereas my Tory cc invested in a scheme that went bust and all that money was lost.

Wealthier areas giving money to help poorer areas?
Is this an English thing? I have never heard of it and find it hard to believe that Wirral is subsidising Glasgow!
Where can I find out more about this?

There are two issues here at least - how the money’s raised and how it’s spent. I despair that any government will ever have the courage to reform local revenue raising- the LDs used to advocate a local income tax which is on the right lines re fairness but has never been taken up mainstream. As for how it’s spent - I live in a solid Tory area and could match you story for story gilly. The quality of many who become councillors makes me despair and the only exception is the LDs who work extremely hard at ward level to fight our corner and are good at communicating

Wirral council is " propping up " various other councils in the country.( £51 million ) I strongly object to this for many reasons, firstly in a few places in the borough there is very poor street-lighting, lights out and not fixed. Patchy roads, some lethal pavements, weeds growing along pavement edges.

Other councils who receive what WE should are, Birmingham, Glasgow and elsewhere. The Labour council has been tackled about this but they won't budge on it. It's known as " Mates Rates " and has been going on for a few years. Low interest loans.

It's good to know that our council tax is going out of the area to help others while our services are going down the pan ! Although this was voted against--8 out of 10, the Labour councillors refused.

Our council tax rise is due to the fact that there is a £45million shortfall which is needed !! We should all refuse to pay it given that they hand out £51 million to other councils. They're blaming this government for the austerity measures-----what ?

Isn’t it true that some of the local government leaders earn more than Mrs May?
Nobody is getting a pension or wage rise at that %, I don’t know how some afford to pay.

Our labour council have some of the highest paid executives in the country .they have just spent £millions of our money on the town hall too with Top of the range everything ( I’ve had the grand tour with WI) . Not forgetting the free Pilates and yoga etc. for their staff of course . Oh and they must be getting backhanders from Siemens and road contractors as we have unnecessary traffic lights and new bus lanes popping up everywhere . How bloody dare they raise our CT and waste money like this ?

My Laour council has sneakily changed the ten monthly payment to 12 monthly- the monthly payment looks less!

They have also approved of a rise for themselves- well, what a surprise.

Some of you appear to be paying an awful lot of money- have you, like bikergran made enquiries?

I pay £125 for a one bedroom flat in a small village in Surrey which includes single occupancy discount. That’s over 10 months and it will probably go up in April. It has the the two years previously. My other bills are quite high . I work 11.5 hours a week to supplement my pension. I don’t know how I’ll manage when I finally give up work

Mine was £1,155.82 last year for Band A (dormer bungalow granny annexe new build). Take 25% discount for single occupancy from that amount but I don't yet have the 2019/2020 amount.
I think the monthly figure people are giving is confusing as most areas make you pay over 10 months but some now let you pay over 12 months so people might be talking at cross purposes regarding the total bill.
Remember Conservative councils usually have lower council tax bills as they are better at managing money. Labour councils are usually incompetent spendthrifts so no money could ever be transferred from a rich area to a poor area. That's not to say that poor areas should not get more support from central government, which as far as I know, they do.

I don't pay Council Tax which is fair I think because I live on a narrow boat and don't get any council services.

Apparently I could apply for a bus pass because of my age but I don't think that would be right because I am not contributing.

I really miss the convenience of a pass which I experienced when I lived on dry land. Now I have to make sure I have enough change to pay the £2.40 it costs each way to get to the shops..

I agree that CT is not really fair because it doesn't take account of individual circumstances (eg number of residents). One problem is that if it did the rules would have to be quite complex and it would cost more to administer.

Mycouncil tax for a two bedroom (new build 7 years ago) is £170 per month . Rising almost 4% in April ! There are houses in my borough worth twice as much as mine (or more) paying a lot less than what I pay.

Mine is a 3 bedroom Victorian flat in a decent area (band c) and my CT bill with 25% discount will be £118 pm from 1st April.
I don't object as I broadly agree with council expenditure - eg new, wheelchair-accessible council housing.
I'd have to do some investigation into councillor expenses and payments.

Fennel the discount is all part of the inane stupidity and unfairness of council tax - not related to age or income.

Yes Charliegirl its a bitter pill to swallow, I have been in work almost 3 years now and no one has ever said I may or may not be paying too much I really don't know, but this time I am going to make enquires.

But Like I say with our Council "Hyndburn Borough Council" I and many others still had to pay CT out of our Jobseekers.(which is also a Taxable benefit! along with bereavement benefit)

But anyway digressing away from the subject.

Yes I do think CT needs an overhaul.Not sure in what direction though.

bikergran it is beyond me if you are on a low income that you pay any council tax at all. They give with one hand and take back with the other- it makes little sense to me.

Fennel think it maybe means tested , infact I am just in the process of filling out the form, as I am on a low income and just feel that the amount I am paying isnt right.
I wont hold my breath as even when on Bereavement benefit (£111.00) a week I still have to pay £44 a month out of that for my CT.

When they then moved me to Jobseekers allwance (£73.00) a week I still have to pay about £22 a month.

I dare not say too much about banding. I pay band D but because of house prices in London, I should be paying band F or whatever is higher yet it is difficult to swing a cat in my small house. My tax is going up £150 a year and libraries have closed and our roads are riddled with potholes. We still pay extra to have garden waste removed.

So ours isn't too bad.
How do you qualify for a discount? Is it means tested? Or age related?

I don’t think there’s anyway that council tax could be fair. And neither was the poll tax. Of course it does depend what is meant by fair but somewhere in the mix has to be the concept of it bring a progressive tax I. i.e. related to income but given the enormous disparities in income in different regions of the UK then how the Government determines its share is also crucial