Starmer declines to rule out council tax rise.

M0nica

The simplest solution is for all local taxes to be abolished and replaced by a local income tax, which can vary from authority to authority but everyone's contribution would be decided by their income.

How would that work in areas where the majority are poor, or in areas like I saw on TV last night, where most of the homes are holiday homes?

The simplest solution is for all local taxes to be abolished and replaced by a local income tax, which can vary from authority to authority but everyone's contribution would be decided by their income.

OldFrill

The wealthy were better off with the poll tax.

But how? I'm not saying they weren't, but I'm not sure how it would work out like that.

Great poem just missing out on changes to right to buy 21 Nov

HousePlantQueen - pay everything for self, nothing towards others less fortunate

newnanny

So we all have to help your MiL and your dogs then.

Yes, that's how democracy works. I paid NIC all my working life, but I am fortunate that I needed very little attention from the NHS. I have paid council tax for many years, but so far, have had little call for 'extras' such as social care. Perhaps, with your attitiude, you would prefer to live in USA and pay for absolutely everything?

growstuff

If that's the case, why are you making the assertions you have done?

Presumably for the same reasons that you do.

Mollygo

You’re arguing with yourself.
I know about council tax and how it works.

If that's the case, why are you making the assertions you have done?

The wealthy were better off with the poll tax.

Sorry - do you mean the wealthy were better off under the poll tax (or would have been) or under the CT/rateable value system?

The wealthier were better off as they paid less than under the previous system and the poorer paid more.
It was unjust and that was it's downfall.

And none of this answers the question of why the poll tax was so unpopular, as opposed to payment by household.

If the idea was that where a bill for an address came to £100 it should rise to £400 if four adults lived there, I could understand the objection, but if the charge were worked out so that the same amount was collected but divided by the number of eligible adults in the area, rather than the number of households, many people would be better off.

You’re arguing with yourself.
I know about council tax and how it works.

Mollygo If central government didn't redistribute Council Tax income according to need, some poorer areas would never be able to raise enough money. Often they are the ones with the greatest needs. By far the biggest chunk of local government spending goes to adult social care. If there were no redistribution of the money raised from Council Tax, vulnerable adults living in poorer areas would have no chance of receiving anything like a reasonable level of care.

Tourist tax is nothing to do with Council Tax.

Councils are allowed to keep some money they raise - that's why some inner London boroughs raise a fortune from parking, which they are allowed to keep, so can keep their Council Tax rates low.

I don't care about the official impression councils give. Council Tax is paid to central government and all goes into the same 'pot' as other taxes and is redistributed to councils. That's how the system works.

The tourist tax contributes to the expenses and management of each commune or municipality, that are necessary for the development of tourism in its area.

The municipality decides on the allocation of the tax proceeds, allowing notably:

to contribute to the management costs of the information centre or to subsidise the tourist office,
to recruit extra staff for the tourist season,
to maintain the beaches and tourist facilities, which also benefits local people
to decorate the area,
to create extra parking spaces, which also benefits local people
to provide local signage, etc...

It doesn’t say anything about paying it to the government in order to get it back from the government.
Perhaps that’s where we go wrong. I suspect any tourist tax would vanish into the government coffers (any government) and would do little to benefit the local community who have had the tax levied on it.

PS. Our local district council collects Council Tax, but only keeps 8% of it.

Even in Wales, Council Tax only pays for 25% of local services. The rest comes from business rates and revenue support grants paid by the Welsh government.

We pay our council tax directly to our local council in Wales growstuff, I didn’t realise it was different in England.

It might be 'marketed' as paying for local services, but it doesn't.

Doodledog

Iam64

Google tells me that CT is used to fund schools, libraries and other local services. I’m curious as to what you meant growstuff.
I’m happy to contribute to the benefit of society in the various taxes I pay.

That's what I thought, Iam. But we are always being told that money we pay isn't used to fund what we are told they pay for. We get a pie chart explaining where the CT goes, and as I say, the Gov.uk website spells out that NI funds the NHS and other benefits.

Council Tax is paid direct to central government and is then paid back to councils according to perceived need. Perceived need is decided by central government, so some councils receive more per capita than others. Wealthier areas sometimes receive less back than they contribute, although the Conservatives changed the formula, so poorer councils received less than they had done in the past.

Councils are allowed to keep some of the money they raise, such as parking charges and grants from new building.

Essentially, Council Tax is a very crude wealth tax and is just another way of distributing the burden of taxation. Most schools are funded directly from the government and even those which aren't, are funded with payments made by central government to councils according to a formula.

Mollygo

Can’t access that Casdon.

Sorry, it’s a weird thing with the Independent, sometimes it won’t let you in, but if you keep trying the link it willl eventually, I’d don’t know why. Anyway, same story from BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2456p8gp5go

Iam64

Google tells me that CT is used to fund schools, libraries and other local services. I’m curious as to what you meant growstuff.
I’m happy to contribute to the benefit of society in the various taxes I pay.

That's what I thought, Iam. But we are always being told that money we pay isn't used to fund what we are told they pay for. We get a pie chart explaining where the CT goes, and as I say, the Gov.uk website spells out that NI funds the NHS and other benefits.

Can’t access that Casdon.

Google tells me that CT is used to fund schools, libraries and other local services. I’m curious as to what you meant growstuff.
I’m happy to contribute to the benefit of society in the various taxes I pay.