Council tax very unfair to single people

They only have one house between them to catch fire.

Your council can ask DLUHc for a capitalisation direction if they want to spend capital on revenue costs. DLUHC grants that fairly often as it's a way of staving off a s114 notice.

Many councils are struggling all over the country.

Yes the Tories are painting it as council mismanagement in B'ham - and presumably some will be that - but the direct settlement from the government has been reduced so much.

Does the current situation with council funding mean that democratically elected local councils should be scrapped and remove all public services altogether? No.

I've supported CTax reform ever since it was introduced - it is not progressive enough IMO - but the answer is not the even more regressive poll tax.

of course single people had a voice, a lot of them were on the street rioting.

If someone lived in a shared house of three, poll tax would have put their bills up a lot.

Poll tax was crap for low-paid single people (who tend to share houses).

I'm a little irritated that houses in our road are in a lower band because in 1991 they didn't have the massive extensions and extra bedrooms they now have. Not to mention the extra people therein.

It's a flawed system which needs updating but won't get it as there's no political advantage.

@calligraphee I'm guessing you don't pay your council tax to Birmingham City Council. Nearest thing to a place with no functioning services.

I totally agree about basic lack of understanding.

The idea we could just abolish public services and have a voluntary system of fundraising to repair roads is the maddest thing I've read for a while.

@Dacadactyl that was your choice to be a SAHM. You still had the potential for two incomes.

It. Was. A. Joke.

i am not seriously suggesting we get rid of local councils.

I do think ours could do a better job than they are doing though.

No it wouldn't.

Look back in time at the period before public services.

It was shit.

There are some very good arguments for doing the opposite to reduce inequality. Reduce tax on income and increase tax on wealth.

It doesn't include property value is the issue. A very wealthy person in a £2 million house with massive garden, should pay more than an oap, their adult child and their student grandchild in a mid terrace opening onto the street with a back yard. It needs to reflect the property.

Council tax is unfair, the single person's charge is just one of the larger examples. So are business rates.

I favour local income tax and to have business local taxes based on turnover.

In all honesty you are talking nonsense.

Modern society has processes.

I don't want some weirdos deciding to fuck up my local area with no democratic oversight, thanks.

If you want to volunteer, volunteer in the existing sane structures.

The basic lack of understanding of how tax and public services work on this thread demonstrates why we have such an unfair system and people keep voting to keep it exactly as it is

Oh, I think crowdfunding for pothole-filling would raise a lot of money here

Our local councillors are generally the batshit ones on the local FB pages, everyone else seems relatively normal.

How is it unfair OP when this is a personal choice you have made? Presumably your house can fit in two other people so take in two lodgers. As PPs have said, Poll tax did not work.

Would they?

Where is the money coming from to pay for the potholes? How do they decide between all the thousands of potholes?

How do they decide between the furious FB groups in different areas?

The idea of scrapping local democracy and thinking your town would be better off with some ill-qualified people from FB fundraising for potholes and doing it DIY is 100% batshit.

Google Rod Stewart. He got told off though.

because council tax is based per house and band rating not per person. 25% discount is really a good will gesture

I wasn’t being entirely serious (can no one on here take a joke any more?) but in all honesty I think there would be a group of people prepared to band together to get some things done. I’d certainly volunteer.

My question is what would the place be like if they actually worked on these things. If they hadn't closed our libraries. If they were repairing the roads...if they hadn't introduced and then removed a cycle lane because some idiots didn't realise how much it would affect the buses....how much did that cost? 😱

It isn't worth getting involved in council meetings because the amount of time money and energy spent on crap is just mind blowing.

I've just noticed that the breakdown this month separates "corporate costs" and "corporate services" ....perhaps I'll waste some time emailing them about that ...actually no it's not worth it.

I temped for Camden Council once.

I had absolutely nothing to do for two weeks, but I had no access to the Internet and I wasn't allowed to read a book.

If I could get that kind of work now - especially at home - or if I was allowed to read a book, I would absolutely jump at it.

Who was that novelist who wrote his entire novel while temping for Westminster Council? That's going to bug me now....

my late father used to encourage me to go into politics 😂

I don't think there is a place for anyone who actually wants to address these things.

Who is 'we' in this scenario?

Are you volunteering to take your town planning exams at nightclass and run this new scheme?

Do you think things were better in 1650?

Who is organising things in your mad world with no council? Are you asking your Auntie June to sort everything out?