Council tax very unfair to single people

As usual... It really shouldn't come as a shock now, but still does.

@Thepeppapigfanclub Wandsworth is another one with famously low council tax - they pay around a third of what I do. So there's another option for you - just buy a flat in fucking Wimbledon or Putney or such. Who's subsidising who again?

Why do you think you are subsiding other people’s life choices?

I am a single woman, pay a lot in income tax and council tax. I think I am subsidising other people’s life choices😊, as well as paying towards people who need assistance. I take a lot less out of the system than I put in. I will have to pay for any care I need when I am elderly - my savings and house will take the brunt.

Can you expand on how people who have children are subsidising me?

Being single is the default. We're all single, until we're not, maybe, for a while.

@Papyrophile

It definitely costs more everyday to be a singleton. But why should society (ie the rest of the population) subsidise any one's choices?

Have you seen the state of what's around on dating apps lately. 😂Being single isn't a 'lifestyle' choice for many people - it's a necessity. And by the same token, why should people who use less resources be charged the same as those who use substantially more?

That being said, to hear people being charged over £300 a month in Wales and people in Mayfair paying considerably less has led me to think about winding my neck in a bit.

What a weird and unfair system.

But why should society (ie the rest of the population) subsidise any one's choices?

That’s kind of what a society does - how many parents actually pay the full cost of raising their children? (I’m very happy for my taxes to go towards that - but it’s still subsidising someone else’s choice)

Also being single / living on your own isn’t always a choice.

It definitely costs more everyday to be a singleton. But why should society (ie the rest of the population) subsidise any one's choices?

Well I guess you could see it like that - single people are subsidising couples by paying more tax than them. Taxation means we're all "subsidising" each other to an extent I guess, by putting money in the collective pot - nobody's "paying" for bins and fire brigade really - they cost fuck all in the context of council tax - what we're paying for is adult social care for citizens who can't fund care themselves. I mean, that's what our council tax is mostly for. But it does seem crazy that single people are taxed so much more.

If you knew that, then why pose the question, when the answer is obviously that it’s as fair a system as they can possibly get, and single people are not being penalised unfairly. 🤔

It definitely costs more everyday to be a singleton. But why should society (ie the rest of the population) subsidise any one's choices? It all boils down to "this is good now v this is shit now but it will get better". I am not offering any answers and would love to read some.

FTR, I am 67 but with a DC25, who will have a deposit on a property in due course, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN SAVING FOR IT since the birth.

Jumping on this thread unashamedly to ask what happens in the following case?

Dd (19) is doing a full-time Level 3 course at the local college but is going to uni in September to do a degree.

Am I entitled to the single person's discount now and in the future?

'You are already receiving a discount...' It doesn't feel like a discount when you already have to pay the rent/mortgage on your own but you're paying double per person, per head given the amount of services you will use/need.

Council tax is bizarre and unfair. Agree it’s unfair to single people and it’s extremely unfair to people who live in poorer areas who end up paying vastly more.
A single person living in Hartlepool would be extremely hard done by, not fair at all

My water is on the council tax , there is no water bills or meters .Scotland refused to sell their water off .
I did live N Ireland for a couple of years behind the wire , there is no council tax or water bills .

Maggie had alot of ideas which people didn’t want to listen too.

council tax is one of the unfairest tax. Why should someone who is lucky enough to work from home be penalised because they have turned two of the smaller rooms into home offices.

we chose to buy a bigger house on the “poorer” side of the street, which was cheaper than a three bedroom flat on the “richer” side of town. Our council tax is £1500 a year more than that flat now.

personslly I think it should be done on income, but the educated self employed will work out a way not to pay

Perhaps 10% if all income earned should be paid in tax as soon as you earn it, payable by an app.

so if you earn £500 u pay £50
if you earn £5000 u pay £500
if you earn £50000 u pay £5000
if you earn £500000 u pay £50000

its a tricky one

Actually if I did live in Mayfair I’d be paying half the council tax I do now, assuming the same band (D). I’d have to be living in a Band H property before I paid more.

I'm happy I rent private and live in Northern Ireland. We don't pay water rates as well. It's all included in my £500 per month rent for our 3 bed house. I couldn't afford to live in England anymore.

Sadly I don’t live in Mayfair - but that is a good example of something being unfair; I imagine many residents of Mayfair could more easily afford high council tax than people elsewhere in the country.

I've heard the council tax is lower in places like Mayfair where there is not much demand on council services .

I’d actually prefer to see all current taxes scrapped and everyone to pay the same percentage on the money they get in, whether that’s from income, deemed income from wealth, or capital gains. So those with more would pay more, which is fine, but gets rid of all these weird anomalies.

Council tax is fundamentally unfair because it's not based on ability to pay and also based on really old house values that have often dramatically changed from enormous extensions and renovations. It's just so wildly random what band people are on in our village now as it's not 1991 anymore.

I did.

The council tax is actually lower for properties I couldn’t afford to buy!

Well depends where it is doesn't it? Buy in area you can afford to live in . Everyone would know what they are willing to pay when buying .

In the end taxes are unfair in many areas but OP is suggesting we should all pay our way via a flat rate.
If you apply same thinking to income tax and NI then for 22/23 we collectively paid about £470 billion across the three.
There were ~ 67.5 million people in the U.K. at that same time. ~ 14.5 million were under 18 so I’ll assume you might want to let them off tax until they are adults.
So split it between the ~53 million adults and that’s about £8,870 each (including employers national insurance).
You may well contribute more than that today and be better off if we all made the same contribution to be fair but lots of single people would not be better off (particularly the very young and the very old on fixed incomes).

Do you think someone living in a small flat should be billed the same as someone living in a 3 bed house worth over twice the cost?

I don’t think either system is particularly fair. It must be possible to design something better.

Do you think an mp (very nice house) should be billed the same as a teenager living with parents ?