Council tax is a c**t

Birmingham….but now I’m shocked to hear there’s another council in the same boat 😐.

Less to spend, hence fewer services. A vicious circle with us suffering in the middle.

Well I hope he is OK.

But CT is different in Scotland and England. It is general lower than in England, so your Council has less to spend. In England, councils can increase council tax by a certain percentage each year without a local referendum. I doubt a CT referendum would be popular, so the rates do not increase, but the rates for services do, which I imagine reduces the quality of such services.

In Scotland, the council tax bill includes a separate charge for water and sewerage services, which is collected by the local authority on behalf of Scottish Water. In England we have to pay for these services in addition to CT.

Overall, CT is a fair way for people to contribute. Imagine how much it would have cost your Dad to get the light fixed, compared to what he pays in CT.

You could always enrol on a university course. University students are exempt from paying council tax.

I’m sure it has been mentioned but the single person discount drives me mad!

I get 25% off because I’m a single person - why is it not 50% off if the average home has 2 adults living in it 🤬

GCC?

I asked for a link to the graphic that @Penfoldfive posted as he claimed that councils hardly spend any money on Education which is clearly untrue. I worked for one. Think you misread it I wasn’t clear enough.

Has it escaped your notice that all houses and flats are charged council tax? Where are these mythical properties that are exempt, I want to move to one now!

Oh yes, 25% off, 😡, I am single person in a Band A in a shit area that the all but broke council never cleans and is so vile that just leaving my house makes me depressed. I pay £133 a month which is a couple of quid more than I would pay if I shared a Band D! It is a deeply regressive tax. I create less rubbish, use fewer (hardly any in fact) services and the whole things incenses me. I would be less angry if the area I live in at least looked clean. I can see mine hitting £175-£200 a month by the time I die as the council always puts it up by the maximum amount.

So again no answer. Lol

You had your chance. Bye.

Ireland isn't most EU countries.

Ok, how about a more constructive response.

Taxation pays for the things that enables a country to look after it's citizens. The armed forces, the justice system, education, infrastructure etc.

Without these then the country would not work.

Humanity started with no taxes and no services, like you want, but it's moved forward. Things that are of universal benefit get paid for visa taxation

I'll ask again but I'm not expecting an answer. In your zero tax, zero services world how would the military work?

No they don't. Ireland have the very same PAYE system as the UK, yet don't pay council tax or water. They generate their taxes via investment as it is considered a trade tax haven and only Luxembourg exceeds it (marginally) in wealth and GDP.

Ireland have so much money, it has a generous benefits system and invests in its infrastructure, education (one of the best globally, alongside Finland and Japan), and its citizens.

The UK citizens are completely oblivious to other countries and seem to be deluded into believing counci tax is normal.

I think taxes are a good thing.

I pay my taxes. They buy me civilisation.

Unconstructive and not useful in getting any closer to understanding.

All I will say to you now is, frankly, eat what you ordered; you wished for higher taxes, you're getting higher taxes. Don't complain about it if the rich aren't allowed to.

Speaking of which, my 79 year old father in law tripped outside his house in poor light. It was under a lamp post which has been out for 20 years. The local authority, Glasgow City Council, said they'd no money to fix it. A few phone calls and emails threatening to go to the press prompted them to send five men out to repair it the next day. They really are absolute scum.

I agree that social services need to be centrally funded. Funding it through council tax will not and cannot work because the most deprived areas are least able to absorb council tax rises, yet they tend to be the areas with the greatest need. The majority of local authorities are struggling to balance the books because the demand for social care is increasing as the population ages.

Local authorities must provide statutory services regardless of their budget constraints. Some statutory services, such as social services, are heavily regulated, meaning that there is very little scope for efficiency savings. Other statutory services, such as street-cleaning, are less regulated (e.g. the government does not specify how often the streets must be cleaned). So there is scope for cutbacks there. The problem is, such services were probably cut to the bone during previous cost-cutting exercises.

Also, if you notice an expensive "council vanity project" in your area, it was probably funded partly or wholly by a grant from another government organisation.

.....and don't forget these shitty Factor's Fees on top of that.

I don't love it but I've no complaints. If you live in an expensive/large property you pay more. But its bit random in some cases.

I think taxes are a good thing.

however, the way they deal with council tax is awful. The fact you can have one failed DD and they chase you for the entire amount. The fact you can then owe the entire amount for a year, despite it being the start of the year so technically no (or little) debt accrued.
no other debt is handled that way.

So you stay in your house and have never or never will use and of the following services.

• Social Care: A large portion of Council Tax is dedicated to adult and children's social care services, including safeguarding vulnerable people and support for older residents.
• Emergency Services: Your contribution helps fund local police and fire and rescue services.
• Waste Management: This covers household refuse collection, recycling services, and the operation of waste disposal facilities.
• Roads and Transport: Funding goes towards the maintenance of roads, pavements, bridges, street lighting, and public transport initiatives.
• Education and Libraries: It helps pay for schools (though the main funding comes from government grants), libraries, and other educational support services.
• Environmental and Public Health: Services such as street cleaning, park maintenance, pest control, food safety inspections, and tackling environmental crime like fly-tipping are covered.
• Housing and Homelessness: Councils use funds for housing advice, managing council homes, and supporting homeless individuals and families.
• Leisure and Culture: This includes maintaining parks, open spaces, museums, galleries, sports centres, and swimming pools.
• Administration: The tax also covers administrative costs for services like local elections, the registration of births, marriages, and deaths, and the administration of Housing Benefits and Council Tax support schemes.

I doubt very much that you have never used a road or a pavement at night with lights, been to a park. Do you vote, are you married, ever registered a birth? Did you go to school?

Imagine if you had to pay for all the services you use on a daily basis, you would not leave the house.

Well, it does seem weird to me that the people who've spent years crying out for the rich to be taxed harder are now noticing how much of a burden it is to be paying more tax themselves. They're starting to get a taste of what it's like to be considered rich; "Don't tax me more! Tax that lot more!"

It's the same with rising prices; you're paying more but you're not seeing the ROI, if you like. Are you familiar with the YouTube channel Brit Rants? Plenty of taxpayers on there struggling with their council tax now.

The Caymen islands are mainly inhabited by the very rich. You can’t suddenly stop taxation in a country like the U.K. and expect it to work the same way.

Also, there is some form of tax - quote from Wikipedia. The government's primary source of income is indirect taxation: there is no income tax, capital gains tax, or corporation tax.[28] A tariff of 5% to 22% (automobiles 29.5% to 100%) is levied against goods imported into the islands. Few goods are exempt; notable exemptions include books, cameras, and perfume.[85]

Most EU countries pay higher tax overall. They also have the benefit of being in the EU which we threw away.

The Cayman Islands and the UK are so different that any comparison is meaningless