Council tax is a c**t

Res ipsa loquitur.

You made the claim, the onus is on you to prove it

Prove me wrong 😀

I'll admit the "only" was a stretch

s/only/main/

Exactly. If any flavour of government said they would sack off council tax but add a couple of percent to income tax there would be riots, or at least very loud tutting.

The only reason to have a tax system is to keep civil servants in a job?

We both know that's bullshit

The problem with universal benefits, is that it is an incredibly efficient way to move money around. Which doesn't suit anyone. It leaves the civil service with nothing to do (and remember the only reason we have a tax system is to keep these people in a job) and also fuels incessant "Why does Lord Handshandy get the same as Mrs. Littleoldlady ?" sort of MN threads based on the anxiety that is borne of having too much free time with little productive to occupy it.

We pay nearly £4k a year for ours, I wanted to live in the community I grew up in but there are a very limited number of properties due to planning laws. Council tax has shot up since we bought the house and moved here. It’s getting ridiculous now.

Imagine if they tried to raise PAYE this budget. It would have caused a revolt! No one dares do that. Look why the tories didn't do it!

I suggest that we invest in educating young people so that they can get good jobs and pay taxes to support the increasing elderly population. But that’s forward thinking and who wants that so long as we get the bins emptied.

It's all going on adult social care, children's services and pensions. People are getting needier and the number of people paying is decreasing.

Awful really. It should have remained as a universal benefit called “Family Allowance”.

Nope, DH falls between the thresholds. You lose 10% for every 1 thousand you earn over the threshold. There is no way to claim a portion of it, you have to claim full amount and pay part of it back as tax.

Are you claiming it for the NI credits?

Nope, I'm talking about the fact its taxed. The sole reason my husband has to do a self assessment tax form is child benefit. A percentage is taken over a threshold and a higher percentage at another threshold, a bit like .... tax!

It's ok. I wanted to free you up some time so you could search for that deft sarcasm module you've obviously misplaced

Here's a breakdown of my council tax. If I only had to pay for what I used it would be a fraction of the price

No idea why they don’t. They have been sent photos from various locals proving who it was.

They have spoken to the household multiple times. Local councillors contacted but this one house just keeps getting away with it.

Yes - here in Dorset it's the County Council but the same thing. I do think that appeals where you can show proof of trying to sell the property are looked at sympathetically. Worth a go!

Why can’t they be prosecuted and fined, must be so frustrating

TBH our local council provides very little of this, 3 week collections, charges for taking almost anything to the tip, a booking system that deters people going there.
Library is a weekly service in a pub or it was.
Street lighting turned off at late at night!! Police? you mean the Speeding fines collection service? Police stations closed, need to wait 20mins on the phone to get an appointment to see anyone, they wont even accept lost property, i found keys and £100... they suggested i post it on FB...

Roads maintained??? ha ha thats funny, swept? nope, hence the huge floods we get as drains and ditches over flow.

Cannot comment on fire, they have shut almost every local station in the area over the last 20 years or so, all centralised now.

Public services are in the pits... & nothing has improved since Labour got in, nothing works in this country anymore.

We are paying ever more to get less and less, meanwhile CEO of council earns around £200k

No street lighting, waste collection, police or fire brigade? No roads to sweep and maintain? No environmental health checking on food safety in restaurants and take aways?

We're in band F. Think it's a bit of a cheek. How can we be re banded up to a G ?

That’s a whole other issue. We shouldn’t have foreign investor landlords.

They should be resident in the country with the exception of those who are just letting out the old family home while working aboard.

Why am I charged nearly two grand for a Band B property where I live, when the same band in my sister's town - which is dripping with wealth and services in comparison and the standard of living is far higher - is charged less? They even have a disparity within the same local authority depending which town you live, because of "town council precepts".

Yep, my old landlord did not live in the UK. Why would he have been responsible for paying a tax that goes towards bin collections, police, fire services, roads etc when he is not the one using those things?