Council tax very unfair to single people

Do you mean a one bed flat should pay the same as a 4 bed house?!

I’ve spent my whole life living with other people, sometimes in a crowded houseshare to save money. I’m dreaming of living in my own - an extra bit of council tax would be a small price to pay for my own space to live in how I please.

I don't mind contributing to the cost of the educating the children who will be the taxpayers of the future, or social care for the elderly and disabled, which are the two biggest areas of local government spending.

I get irrationally annoyed though, when I put out my tiny bit of non-recyclable rubbish (really tiny - it could fit in a shoebox some weeks) and the woman over the road, who has 2 kids, has at least one massive black sack every week, sometimes two. She has 2 recycling bins that are always full, as well, I sometimes don't bother to put mine out for weeks. I don't see the point of dragging it down the drive if it's less than half-full.

But my rational self knows that only a very small amount of the council tax goes on waste collection and disposal, and I give myself a theoretical slap around the head.

I think local income tax would be fairer overall. Those most able to pay would pay the most. The household along the road with 4 working adults would pay according to their combined income, not the size of their house (which, incidentally, is twice the size it was as they've extended massively, but is still the same council tax band).

It would still be a lot of money though: council tax here is nearly £2,400 for a band C property. I really don't know what they do with it all.

I emailed a Labour MP about that once. All the junk delivered to our block was about "hard working families". I felt she needed to be reminded that single people exist....I told her we aren't unicorns.

Yeah OP just take in a lodger or move into an HMO. Simple.

My unpopular opinion is that every property should pay the same price for the same services.

It drives me mad too but it’ll never change because politicians only care about “hard-working families”.

I think 500 sq ft is small enough but obvs the council don't agree.

I wonder what Band A is size wise?

This. It’s not unfair, you’re paying for property services. Presumably as a single person you can choose to live in a smaller property and pay less, or take in a lodger if living in a bigger one. But a household regardless of the number of people living in it uses the same amount of property services, so that’s what you’re paying for.

I think it should be per person.

I am one person in a tiny one bed using one person's worth of resources.

though if I was in a bigger property, would I being using more resources? I don't think so.

I also think a small flat should be band B but apparently it's 300sq ft bedsits that are band B, so the type where you put the bed away.

You'll get a load of crap about how it's 50% property and 50% personal (plus completely irrelevant tosh about people's DHs paying theirs - no one cares) and yeah MAYBE back in the days of Methuselah when it was introduced that might have washed but Council Tax is an abomination because

• it varies wildly depending on your postcode
• it's based on property prices from the 90s
• any properties built after that time get a banding that's literally just made up
• it's charged on all properties regardless of tenure - 35% of households rent so they don't even own the asset that is theoretically valued
• it's not linked to ability to pay
• single people pay 50% more than couples

For a taxation system ie a system of mandatory payments that a state imposes on citizens this is all deeply problematic. Obviously no tax system is perfect but there are huge fundamental flaws with council tax.

It's one of those taxes for which absolutely everyone considers they pay more than the value of the services they receive - which clearly isn't the case.

Everything needs funding whether you personally use it or not - those things are essential for a decent, functioning society.

It's not levied on a per-person basis, so YABU.

The government tried to bring in a poll tax in the very early 90s, which would have been a per person levy, but there were riots over it, with student households arguing against it.

I don't remember if the poll tax would have included a student exemption, but council tax does so I would imagine it did.

I've got serious deja vu. Have you posted this before?

Meh, it's worth it not to have to share

Council tax support is a thing for people on benefits.

Not at all comparable!

Having said that, I do think 25% is quite a large discount (and I get the single occupant deduction).

This...

the council tax funds your bin collection and other services... your house still gets the same collections, the same service just less quantity, the bin wagon still comes on the same schedule, you may produce less waste but its still collected on the same schedule,

just because you don't have the property at full capacity (a one bed flat would be lower band council tax), the amount of people living at your house doesn't mean that you wouldn't call the police or fire department if you had an issue...

A lad at work today was saying that he is band c in a one bedroom flat and it’s over £175 a month now.

its a beautiful one bedroom ground floor flat with garden and parking, but certainly no room for a pony!

@Dacadactyl op can’t choose not to work though can she. You made that choice.

Do you remember the reaction to introduction poll tax under Maggie thatcher? It was to charge per adult in a household but there were many multi generation dwellings, especially up north, who would have suffered and they had to go back on the policy.

What?

It's not unfair.

When I was a SAHM, DH paid all the council tax. I didn't have an income. And we didn't get a 25% discount.

I used to work in Council Tax. It's 50% a property tax and 50% a person tax. So if you're a single person you pay for the property element and get a 50% discount on the person element.