Is Council tax now getting beyond a joke?

[andsome]

I know that a few on here consider that everything done by this government is beyond reproach. However, I think that most fair minded people are of the opinion that Council tax has now gone beyond a joke, especially for those on low income or a pension. If you look at the facts and figures, it is obvious that most of the blame lies not with wicked Tory, Lib Dem or Independent councils, but fairly and squarely with the government, and Brown in particular. Year in and year out, local councils have been burdened with more and more responsibility for services, and year after year the government share of the cost of these services has been cut, leaving an ever increasing burden falling upon Council Tax. Last year, many hundreds of thousands of people wrote to Prescott concerning this matter, and he denied that he received more than 5000 such letters. A politically independent body going under the name of ISITFAIR are organising another mass protest, this time to the cause of these steep rises, namely Gordon Brown. I would ask everyone to read the two attachments VERY carefully, and then spend a few minutes of their time in writing a letter concerning this matter to Gordon Brown. We do not want to risk him denying receipt of these letter the same way as Prescott did. Therefore please address the letter to Gordon Brown, but put it in an envelope to Warwick Row as requested. All the letters will then be delivered by hand in the full glare of publicity, having first been counted. If you phrase the letter so that you actually ask a question, we hope that the treasury will feel morally bound to send an answer.

[catgate]

I think the base cause of the rise in council tax is that over many, many years the word budget has taken on a meaning which it used not to have. To budget used to be to work within the monetay means at ones disposal. It has now come to mean to to demand monetary means to fulfill ones desires.

We now have politicians of all levels of government, local and national, demanding money to fulfill their desires, which in most cases are not things the the public want, but are things which the politicians see as either perks for themselves or things with which they hope to hold on to power.

The voting to approve.reject the chancellor's budget and the council's tax should be done not by the politicians but by the public, who, after all, are providing the money. Anything else is robbery dressed up.

[Lamb Chop]

I had come to the conclusion from reading something on the net that Council Tax had been abolished as very unpopular.

WE pay Rates here and they go up year after year, but State Government do give the Age Pensioner only a rebate. Helps. Ours is capped as we have a Labor State Gov and they hate to give anyone other than themselves money - it stands at $375 - my Rates without $1489 and were 10 years ago $650.

Why the increase. Well may help you go oh yeah - dejavu

Because our Councilors like all politicians now think that they owe us voters/rate payers nothing but that their wishes are ultimate and that if this needs more money then slug the rates in particular and they now pay themselves a salary, whereas used to be expenses.

some local councils have bought football clubs and built Cinema complexes etc - think that they are business corporations.

Started with State Governments turning what were essential services into government business enterprises with committees to oversee these by budget meeting yearly.

Now these GBE's have Boards, Chairman and members all paid around say $100K each or going rate as these things go, and in our case fly them in from the mainland, which costs, then drinkie poos and subsidized meals and that is on top of an overpaid CEO ours $250K plus super and perks and lurks we know nutting about. Then of course usual HQ staff and workers, latter being reduced and then the savings instead of coming back to us consumers go where? back pockets of the Men in Charge and of course State Gov as bonus into general revenue - have to pay for all those trips overseas to see how the UK USA Canada or europe do it and then a new car every few months etc etc etc.

See it happens everywhere, and it aint good enough, so go to it make a difference and that if reported will put the up ours too.

:D :lol:

I do ask my sister to tell me but she is so vague. Also has now cut off her home computer to save money even though I sent her links for free email. Sigh........

[andsome]

I have been surprised at the apparent lack of response from British people on the forum. We obviously have some wealthy people among us, who can easily afford these rapidly rising bills. This is a non political organisation, trying to get something done. I will certainly be sending my letter. Even many Labour councils are blaming a large proportion of these extortionate rises on to G Brown.

[CurlyWhirly]

We obviously have some wealthy people among us, who can easily afford these rapidly rising bills.

I'm not one of them!

I agree that the council tax hikes are unfair but what is the point about complaining as nothing will be done (ok I'm a skeptic)

Do these government petitions actually achieve anything as, after looking at the Government website, there appear to be loads of them :0

[andsome]

We obviously have some wealthy people among us, who can easily afford these rapidly rising bills.

I'm not one of them!

I agree that the council tax hikes are unfair but what is the point about complaining as nothing will be done (ok I'm a skeptic)

Do these government petitions actually achieve anything as, after looking at the Government website, there appear to be loads of them :0

It would only take a few minutes to type a letter and at least try.

[catgate]

(ok I'm a skeptic)

If you go to the Doctor he may give you some cream to rub on.

I think the time is not far away when there will be another Watt Tyler appearing. The cycle of civil revolution is about due to come round again, if times gone by are any guide.

[CurlyWhirly]

It would only take a few minutes to type a letter and at least try.

Yes you are of course right, I might just do that.

(ok I'm a skeptic)

If you go to the Doctor he may give you some cream to rub on.

:D

[Alan2273]

I have to agree with CurlyWhirly, these petitions are a waste of time regardless of how long it takes you to fill it in.

The post from LambChop about the councils paying there selves a salary echoes our councils.

Whether G. Brown is to blame is debatable, as all councillors seem to want to get there snout in the trough, and the money has to come from somewhere, if the government will not supply it then the council tax payer has to foot the bill.

This is not apathy, it is a fact of life.