Council tax very unfair to single people

Caused riots at the time. I remember our neighbours had four adults then. They were steaming.

Well I've got deja vu. So I've either dreamt about this thread, or someone else has posted it fairly recently. Both possible tbh.

Anyway council tax is wild. The way they've decided which house pays how much and so on.

I don't remember poll tax, but my exes parents always used to bitch that they were rich until it was bought in. They weren't, they just never liked taking responsibility for their own choices.

People rioted. My parents were in Liverpool at the time and they often had 3 generations of adults in a small terraced house, suddenly they’d have to pay a lot more. I thought it was fairer but I guess it affects the poor more as they’re more likely to live like that.

Thanks

our block did a lot of checking and the criteria here is band C for the one beds unless they go over 500sq m in which case, it's band D.

this prompted a lot of research (and measuring!) and it turns out it's only bedsits paying band B.

variation by area is very random. I moved here from a cheaper council but I do think the council here is better.

Small bungalow, two of us £300 per month this year a 20% rise in two years. Our council is in trouble so need baling out again.

Council Tax is called Property Tax in countries outside of the UK. It’s based on the value of the property and TBH, I won’t be surprised if future governments get rid of the discount when they get desperate for money. Unfortunately it has to be paid, and the more people you move into your home, the more people you can share the total bill with. Same as the mortgage or rent—a household with two adults in the same value as your home will pay 1/2 of what you pay for rent/mortgage. Same for home insurance—the bill can be divided by the number of residents in the home. Taxes swing in roundabouts—people without children don’t get any discounts, despite never needing state schools. 🤷‍♀️

Just checked and the 2 bed apartments on the next road (same estate) are band A

@LakieLady trouble with changing to local income tax is that council tax now funds more and more services, so areas with lots of low income workers would get really shit services.

When CT was set up most council money came from central government funding which we all pay towards under the various national tax schemes. Council tax was just a bit of an add-on to give councils more autonomy. Back then making it a local income tax wouldn't have made much difference in terms of how much money was available to spend locally. But it would make a difference now that funding from central funds has gone down massively and councils need the money from council tax payers in their areas.

Or less risk because it's more likely someone will notice something smouldering?

There are so many things wrong with council tax that I wouldn’t start with that one!

Basing tax on an updated valuation and setting Band D to the average price for the area would be my starting point.

I don't understand why it was so unpopular, surely it makes sense to pay based on the number of adults in the home.

I'm band B, 2 bed 75sqm apartment

But if you're a solo occupant, isn't there a percentage decrease in your likelihood of setting fire to your house?

I'm really just curious. My council tax bill is actually quite low at £130 per month, but it's still steep as a solo payer.

Excellent point!

I’ve griped about this too, so understand the sentiment.
My local town centre is a cesspit and I don’t see it improving soon, so I hope my contribution (£150 pm after discount) goes a long way to protecting our vulnerable children and adults 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Why should a 2 bedroom house pay less than a 4 bedroom house in the same road/area/town, if the services they receive are identical

Why should a 3 bedroom semi in one area of town pay more than a 3 bedroom semi in another?

It's all unfair on many levels imo

I get benefits and do not get council tax support. And OP might not get benefits either!

This!

25% discount on your refuse collection. You enjoy all the other services provided.

Bring back poll tax hey?

As a single person you still get your bins collected the same number of times.

There is no completely fair system but if it was per head fewer people and the same number of houses would severely limit council income.
Affluent areas tend to have lower household occupancy in bigger houses......and people who live alone in bigger houses typically can afford to pay more tax than people who have lots of adults in smaller houses.

No it's not. It's also about fire service. Assuming you wouldn't want less service there than anyone else if your house was burning down.

Regarding bins - as a solo occupant, I only put my recycling out approximately once every three months. My household rubbish usually goes out every collection (once a fortnight), but equally I sometimes miss one collection and put it out once a month. I don't make nearly as much rubbish as my (couple) neighbours.